Lucky Shot
by NerdilyNi
Summary: Arnold, now 17, has always been left wondering who Cecile was. So when an odd girl who knows who Cecile is moves into the Sunset Arms, Arnold might finally get some answers.  At least, as long as his new found feelings for Helga don't get in the way.
1. Lucky Guess

**A/N: I normally get a little wary when people tell me when something is their first fanfiction, but I'm going to give you all a heads up anyhow, mainly because I fear that this isn't very good. Anyway, I guess I'm writing it more for myself, and I just really wanted to get it started. Anyways, this will definitely be and AxH story, because they belong together, doi! So please R&R, and hopefully I'll get better at this.**

"Well, everything seems to be in order here little lady, although I must admit this is highly unusual," Phil commented to the young lady in front of him.

"Well, I come from a large family, and it made more sense just to send me here rather than pack up and move everyone in order for only me to go to Hillwood Academy, sir," a petite red-headed girl in a lacy pink dress told him. She had a small, brown suitcase with her as well as a pink and gray plaid backpack bulging with text books and a note from her parents, ensuring that they knew where she was and that they would pay her monthly rent. The girl was a rather pretty young thing, and apparently quite bright and talented. She had just been accepted into Hillwood Academy For the Gifted, nicknamed as The Academy by the locals.

"Yes, your parents seem to have explained that in their letter," the old man stroked his chin while staring suspiciously at the letter, "Still, we don't usually get 17-year-old girls asking for a place to stay. Well, no matter." He finally turned to face her, putting down the piece of paper. "What d'ya say to seeing you room?"

The girl, who had been standing nervously up until this point, smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "I'd like that very much, sir."

"Oh, enough with that 'sir' nonsense. Call me Phil, we're practically family!" With that the old man chuckled at his own joke as he lead the redhead up the stairs and through the hall, stopping before a door just like any of the others.

"I believe this should be to your liking," Phil addressed his new tenant as he opened the door. Her smile widened.

"I believe that this will do nicely," she assured him.

"Well okay then. I'll leave you to get settled, Miss Stevenson."

"Please, call me Lucky."

"Okay, Lucky." The old man scratched his head in confusion, "How in the heck did you get saddled with a name like that anyhow?"

"I'll tell you later," Lucky said, her face still holding that smile.

"Alrightie, you can tell it over dinner!" Phil suggested, "We haven't heard many good stories since Shortman's been gone."

"Shortman?"

"Huh? Oh, yes. Shortman. My grandson, Arnold. You'll meet him in a few weeks. He's finishing up his summer vacation at his cousin Arnie's," he explained as a large crash resounded through the hall. It seemed to have come from the kitchen.

"Oh, no! Pookie!" Phil exclaimed, jumping in realization, "We'll talk later, Lucky! I hope you enjoy the Sunset Arms!" With that, he made a swift exit. The redhead simply smiled as she entered her new room.

After surveying the worn bed and creaky nightstand, Lucky decided that unpacking could wait After retrieving her orange cell phone from her backpack, she pressed a few of its buttons and held it up to her ear.

"Hey, camp buddy," she greeted an old friend of hers, smiling wickedly into the phone, "You'll never guess what my parents did to finally resolve my problem. You know, the one about living too far away from the Academy? Well they got me my own place to stay!"

A few blocks away, a blonde girl was doubting what her friend was telling her. A place to stay in Hillwood? What kind of parents did that?

"Seriously, Lucky, lay off the soft drinks. You're getting those crazy ideas again."

"Really? You're the one calling me crazy?" the other girl retorted.

"Alright, fine. So where are you staying? Anywhere near my house?"

"Oh, I think so. A little place called the Sunset Arms-"

"Did you say Sunset Arms?" the blonde was in even more disbelief.

"That's right, and you know what's funny? The man who runs this joint has a grandson named Arnold-"

"Arnold!"

The phone call recipient winced as her oddly named friend allowed a maniacal laugh to escape from her lips.

"So I guessed right then, didn't I? This is where HE lives, isn't it, Helga?"

**A/N: Yeah, I know. Fast moving and disjointed for a first chapter, but hopefully I'll improve. But I'll never know what you think unless you leave a review! Thanks!**

-NerdilyNi


	2. A Tale of Luck

**A/N: Alright, couldn't stop myself. I had to type up another chapter already. I just don't want to see this fall to the wayside. R&R!**

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><p>"Criminey, Pheebs! I can't believe this!" Helga Pataki, the Pink Thunder of Hillwood High, ranted to her best friend as she finally hung up the phone that she had been staring at for the past five minutes.<p>

"Who was that, Helga?" Pheobe inquired, concerned about her friend's recently broken trance.

"It was Lucky. Remember how she got into that silly little genius school?" Helga asked. Pheobe simply nodded. The shy brainiac had been accepted to Hillwood Academy as well, but decided to stay with the peers that she had grown up with instead. This decision was probably influenced by a grade-skipping experiment she had tried back in her elementary school days. "Well the little runt finally found a way to pull it off!"

"You mean she-"

"Yep, that's right. She went and found herself a little home here in Hillwood."

"Helga, that's wonderful! Now we can visit her instead of calling. I must admit, I was rather worried when I realized that this past summer might be the last time that we ever saw her-"

"Focus, Pheebs. This isn't all rainbows and sunshine."

"What's the matter, Helga?"

"Her family couldn't make the move, so they stuck her in some little boarding house."

"A boarding house?" The Asian girl was catching on.

"That's right, a boarding house. And do you know how many boarding houses are around here?"

"Well I only know about the existence of one."

"Right you are, Miss Hyerdahl. And if there is only one boarding house, and we know TWO people who live in one, what is your conclusion?"

The tiny girl couldn't take it anymore. At Helga's last question, she started cracking up. The situation was all too ironic, and if Phoebe knew the red-headed girl like she thought, there was no way that Lucky wouldn't milk this situation for everything it was worth. If there was anything that girl liked, it was irony, especially when it was against one of her close friends.

Helga scowled at her best friend, who was now rolling on the floor laughing at her predicament, for a few more seconds before allowing a small smile to creep upon her own face. Soon, she was on the floor as well, fighting hysteria alongside the girl she's known since childhood. It took the two at least ten minutes to control their giggling.

"Oh, this is a most interesting turn of events, Helga," Phoebe commented in between giggles, "Imagine all of the possibilities. We could go over with the excuse to visit Lucky, even if you have other intentions."

"Oh, no, Pheebs. I've tried to stop all that wacky nonsense, remember?"

"I believe the operative word there is **tried.**"

Helga sighed. She had grown up quite a bit since the fourth grade. She still wore her pink jumper, although since she had grown taller she decided to put a pair of jeans underneath it, and she hid her pink bow underneath her tattered beanie. Her body had matured into that of a lovely young lady, and she was becoming quite attractive in the eyes of some members of the opposite sex. Helga, however, refused to let them objectify her, which was probably the reason that she stubbornly kept her unibrow. She didn't want to change for anyone.

She looked over at her Asian friend. Phoebe Hyerdahl had grown considerably since the fourth grade, but was still rather small. Gone was the long blue sweater, and in its place was a tasteful blue dress with a purple sash. Her brunette hair had grown longer and was now secured in a tight ponytail at the back of her head, and it was no wonder why a certain African American boy seemed to be smitten with her. Phoebe had definitely grown into a beauty.

The irony of **that** situation was that the African American boy that had eyes for Phoebe was best friends with the boy that Helga had eyes for. That was where the real trouble began. No matter how hard Helga tried, no matter how tall she grew or pretty she got, she could not rid herself of her obsessive love for Arnold. The boy with the football-shaped head had stolen her heart from day one, and it drove Helga crazy how he never noticed her.

"Hey, I have gotten better," she argued, "I haven't stalked him in a good two weeks."

"He's been gone at Arnie's for the past two weeks, remember?"

"So? Progress is progress, am I right?"

Phoebe rolled her eyes at Helga's juvenile reasoning. "Sure thing, Helga."

Then an idea struck her. "Hey, why don't we invite Lucky over to a sleepover?"

"I dunno, she might be wanting to get settled in her 'new home.'"

"Oh, come on. It'll be fun. Besides, it might be wise to lay some ground rules for how Lucky should behave around 'you-know-who.'"

Helga's eyes widened with the realization that if Lucky wasn't careful, Helga's secret could be exposed to the entire world, or at least Helga's world. That world pretty much consisted just of Arnold.

"You're right! Criminey, what would I do without you, Pheebs?"

The Japanese girl smiled in response. "Probably something stupid."

H3AA3H

"Thanks, Mrs.-"

"Ah, ah, ah."

"Oh, right. Pookie. Well, thanks for the dinner," Lucky thanked the woman who had cooked the meal. It actually wasn't half bad, although the teenage girl still missed her own mother's cooking. It was something that she'd have to get used to.

"So, kid, why'd ya wind up in this old dump?" one of the boarders, Mr. Potts, she believed, inquired of her.

"Well, actually I think it's kind of nice here," she replied with a smile, "But if you must know, I was excepted into Hillwood Academy-"

"Oh, yes. That school for really smart kids," another boarder, this one of Oriental descent, struggled to say. She later learned that this was Mr. Huyn.

A little put-off by this interruption, she began again, "yes, well-"

"Oh, I think that's wonderful, darling. What'd you say your name was?" a blonde woman, Suzie interrupted.

"Uh, Lucky."

"Hey, why do you have such a funny name, eh heh heh heh."

"Oskar!"

"What? It's an innocent question, right little girl? Eh heh heh heh."

"Uh, I guess." She shook her head. She had grown up in a large family, so she was used to the interruption, but that was one of the reasons that she had wanted to get away. Now here she was, a different location, same situation.

"Hey, weren't you gonna tell us that story?" Phil asked. Lucky sighed. This wasn't going as well as she had hoped. Although everyone was being friendly and nice, she still felt a bit alone.

"Right, well there isn't much to tell," she began, hoping that this time she would be able to finish her story. Fortunately, the boarders were too curious to interrupt. "My parents were never the luckiest people. It took them twelve tries to finally get a baby-sitter for my three older siblings so that they could go to the hospital to deliver me, to give you an idea of how unlucky they were. Anyway, they were going into the hospital the day I was born and my mom looks down and finds a four-leaf clover, just sitting there, as if it were waiting for her. She bends down, not an easy thing to do when you're a woman in labor, picks it up, and shows my dad. She told him, 'This is our lucky child.' So that's what they named me, so that they would never forget."

Some of the boarders smiled warmly at each other before Suzie broke the comfortable silence.

"That is a touching story, dear."

"Uh, thanks," was all the girl could say. She knew the story wasn't that good; if anything it just showed how eccentric her parents were.

"Who's ready for dessert?" Pookie burst into the dining room, a steaming tray of raspberry cobbler in her hands.

"Hey, that looks goo-"

"Pookie! What have I told you about raspberries?" Phil cried, cutting off his newest tenant.

"Ah, come one Gramps, you still eat it," Mr. Potts brushed aside his comment. Lucky sighed. Even though she hadn't spent a lot of time with people during the trip to Hillwood, she still couldn't handle this. It was all too much. Luckily, she was saved with a doorbell ring.

"Hey, Lucky girl, could you get that door?"

"Sure thing Pookie," Lucky replied, sending a smile in the direction of the elderly woman.

Phil watched the girl leave before addressing his wife. "How did you remember her name?"

"Oh, please, it was easy Phil," she replied, "After all, the girl **is** a leprechaun."

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><p><strong>AN: So do you think it was better? How could it be improved? Please remember to REVIEW! :)**

-NerdilyNi


	3. A Lucky Plan

**A/N: I think I might be setting you guys up for false expectations for updating so fast, but I'm actually really liking the story so far. Here we see a bit more of Lucky's character as well as her friendship with Phoebe and Helga. Again, maybe not the best piece of literature, although I do believe I'm improving, at least from the first chapters.**

**Also I'd like to give a shout-out to my first reviewer, Ingrid! I'm glad you like it so far, but I'm afraid Arnold isn't here just yet. Give him a little bit more time, I've got things planned for that boy, so he needs as much rest right now as he can possibly get!**

**Disclaimer: I totally forgot to do this for the other two chapters, so I'll just start now. I, unfortunately, do not own anything except for Lucky. Seriously, even Camp Oakledge isn't mine. That belongs to the Girl Scouts... :'(**

**As for those of you who own the rights and means to produce Hey Arnold! I just have one thing to say: MAKE THE JUNGLE MOVIE! I'M DYING HERE!**

**That is all. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.**

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><p>"Helga? Phoebe?"<p>

Dusk had just started to fall, and Lucky had been wondering who on Earth would be at someone's door at this time of night. _Of course it'd be __**these**__ two,_ she thought with a smile.

"Lucky!" Phoebe cried, "Long time, no see!"

"Yeah, yeah Pheebs. Relax. You'll have plenty of time to catch up the Random Girl Wonder when she agrees to spend the night tonight," Helga reminded her.

"Wait, what?" To say Lucky was confused would be an understatement. Did she just get an invitation to a sleepover?

"Yea, Phoebe's spending the night at my house and we thought we'd include you, alright Clover Girl?" Helga sneered, using a nickname that she had made up for Lucky. The redhead smiled at her friend's seemingly rude behavior. In truth, the brash behavior was what drew her to Helga as a friend in the first place.

Thinking back to the boarders in the house, however, her smile became a nervous frown.

"Gee, I really don't know," she replied, glancing back at the dining room.

"Aw, go on, Lucky," Pookie materialized next to her, seeming out of thin air, "You girls have fun."

"Wait, how did you-?"

"Tut, tut now. Off you go, little leprechaun!"

With that Pookie shoved the 17-year-old boarder onto the stoop and shut the door behind her.

"Wait, what just happened?" Lucky asked, pointing at the door behind her. Her two companions simply shrugged.

"Come on, we gotta get there before Bob and Miriam fall asleep. Olga's been on a 'being safe means locking doors' kick lately," the blonde terror of the group warned the others. Lucky shook herself out of her confusion as they began their trek toward the Pataki household.

The three girls quickly made their way to Helga's house and were let in by Big Bob, who didn't seem particularly happy to have to get up from watching his shows in order to be disturbed by teenage girls. After dodging his frown and slight glares, the trio found itself safely tucked away in Helga's room.

"What's up with your dad?" Lucky asked, "I mean, no offense, but I'm pretty sure his evil eye could practically kill someone!" Helga simply scoffed.

"Please. Big Bob's just all talk and big looks. He's harmless." The bully waved her hand dismissively. "Enough about my home life, let's talk about _yours_."

"Mine?" Lucky asked, slightly bewildered. Phoebe and Helga nodded. "What do you want to know?"

"Lucky," Phoebe explained calmly, "I'm pretty sure that Helga's simply curious as to how you acquired your current living situation, given the circumstances."

"Circumstances?"

"Oh please," Helga interjected, "You know what we're talking about. Now spill!"

Lucky rolled her eyes before beginning her explanation. "Look, Mom and Dad really wanted me to go to the Academy when my application was accepted, okay? But as I had told you back at Camp Oakledge this year, I couldn't because I lived too far away. They really didn't want to deal with the hassle of finding a house, paying for it, and moving our entire family, aka me, my parents, and the four siblings still living at home, all the way to Hillwood, and they figured that an apartment would be a bit too independent, you know? So they looked up boarding houses, that way I'd still have someone of authority looking out for me, keeping me safe, and it turns out that the Sunset Arms is the winning venue. Does that satisfy your curiosity Pataki?" She gave Helga a pointed look. The blonde rolled her eyes.

"I believe that will do for now," Phoebe agreed, "Now we should probably form some sort of a plan…"

"A plan for what?" the new girl questioned, a mischievous smile on her face. The Asian girl nodded, knowing full well what Lucky was thinking. Helga couldn't take the tension anymore.

"Look, I need your help, okay? Criminey! You know all about my secret, and that's how I want it to stay- a secret."

"Oh please, Helga. I'd never tell."

"You'd better not, Clover Girl, or so help me I'll-"

"You'll what? Come on, Pataki, face it. You're not gonna hit me, especially when you hear **my** plan." That slightly evil glint was growing brighter with every passing second.

"What plan?" Helga asked suspiciously, knowing that she'd probably regret asking. She had known Lucky for years and the girl was known to be a bit of a trickster at times.

"Oh, come on! You know you secretly _want_ Arnold to know."

"No, I don't!" she protested, "Now drop the subject, geek bait." She glared at Lucky for emphasis.

"Newsflash, I live up to the name geek bait," the other girl retorted, casting a glare of her own.

The girls continued to stare each other down in mock anger for a few seconds before bursting out laughing.

"But seriously," Lucky tried again after the giggling died down, "you should tell him."

"Yeah right," the other girl scoffed, "He'd laugh at me."

"So what if he does? That doesn't mean anything."

"Um, YES IT DOES! It means that he doesn't feel the same way, doi!"

"Helga does have quite a legitimate fear of rejection," their Japanese friend pointed out.

"Yeah, don't I know it. Holing up in a tent all summer and listening to a girl describe her love for a guy that she bullies to hide said love tends to lead one to that conclusion, doesn't it?" the redhead quipped with a smirk. Their brash friend was less amused.

"Ugh, Phoebe, how'd you even let me tell her in the first place?"

"Oh, come on, Pataki. I've kept it a secret for about three years now when it was entirely possible for me to just look the kid up before. Face it, I was bound to find out in one of the years that we've gone to Camp Oakledge together."

"Whatever."

"Shouldn't we be figuring out a plan?" Phoebe reminded the others, "because we actually could find a way to make this situation work to our advantage."

"What'd you have in mind, Pheebs?" Helga questioned.

"Well, I was going to suggest a sort of masquerade. You, Helga, would disguise yourself as one of Lucky's friends and spend some time at the boarding house. You're bound to run in with Arnold that way."

"And how, exactly, do you expect that to solve my problems?" Helga snapped. Her dark-haired friend sighed.

"Because then you could get to spend time with Arnold without it being weird. Come on, you know you'd do anything just to spend time with him."

"That I would," the blonde said wistfully, a small sigh escaping her lips.

"Now the question is, who shall she be? Any ideas?" Phoebe looked to her peers for an answer.

"Wait a minute, I've got an idea!" Lucky's eyes lit up with excitement, "To make things interesting, why doesn't she pretend to be someone he already knows?"

"I'm not quite sure that I understand your meaning…"

"Oh, come on, Phoebe. Remember that one Valentine's Day that she told us about?"

"Oh, no, no, no, no! There is no way I'm going to do what you're about to suggest, no freaking way! Criminey, that was a onetime thing!"

"But Helga, I'll bet he's **dying** to find Cecile again-"

"That's exactly my point! If he finds Cecile, then he finds **me!** And if he finds me, he might find out my secret!"

"Well you took your chances that night, remember?" Lucky pointed out.

"I believe that she has a point, Helga."

"Et tu, Phoebe?" The blonde terror sighed in defeat. "Alright, I know when I'm out numbered. What do we do next?"

"Easy," the new resident of Hillwood replied, "You brush up on being Cecile and leave the rest," here she inserted a wicked smile, "to me."

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><p><strong>AN: So the plan is in place, but can things really be that simple? I know, the writing probably stinks... If you want me to get better, you have to leave a review!**

-NerdilyNi


	4. Lucky Encounters

**A/N: Woo, another update! I'm glad that people seem to like it so far. I'm actually getting more excited as things progress here in Hillwood. :)**

**Here's a bit of trivia for you: Lucky wasn't actually created for this story. If you look on my profile, you can see that she was actually created for a Criminal Minds fanfiction, but there were a few crucial details that I could never figure out. I figure that her quirky personality (you'll get to see more of that later) would fit in nicely for this story, so here she is! :P Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy chapter four of Lucky Shot!**

**Disclaimer: I, regrettably, do not own Hey Arnold! For that, I am eternally grateful to Craig Bartlett, who does. If Nick wants my respect, they should make the Jungle Movie. ;)**

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><p>Lucky spent the next two weeks getting settled into her new home. It was odd being on her own for the first time in her life, but she figured that she'd be on her own in college anyway, so what did the rest of it matter?<p>

Her days were either spent with Pookie in the kitchen, learning a few new recipes, or with Helga and Phoebe trying to get a better hold on Cecile's character. After all, this charade wouldn't be a simple meet and greet. They were going to try to keep it up as long as possible.

While she was getting used to the boarding house and its occupants, however, the boarders were getting used to her as well. The men of the house had no clue what to do with a teenage girl around. Suzie and Pookie on the other hand adored her. It was apparent that they had missed out on all of the heartfelt mother-daughter moments life had to offer as neither of them had a daughter. Of course, more often than not the two women tried to spoil her.

In truth, despite the infrequent bouts of homesickness the girl had, she was really starting to like it at the Sunset Arms. Sure, she didn't have too much privacy, but she was accustomed to that. Actually, she had more privacy here than she had had at her parent's house; at least here she had her own room.

Lucky's thoughts crowded around her as she entered the bathroom carrying her toiletry bag, her towel, and her pajamas to change into. It was getting to be later at night and she knew that the other boarders were probably going to watch television or something. Then again, even if they had been planning on using the bathroom, they would have let her go first anyway. It was odd and somewhat sexist, but most of the males figured that teenage girls took up most of the bathroom time, and they often tried to be chivalrous towards the young lady.

After getting undressed, the young lady stepped under the steamy water flowing from the shower head and immersed herself in carelessness and relaxation.

H3AA3H

Arnold looked with gratitude upon the boarding house that he had lived in his entire life. The past couple of weeks had been strenuous upon the poor boy. It was all Arnie's fault. The football-head's cousin was definitely some kind of weird, so having to spend an extended period of time with the freak was grating to say the least.

He entered the boarding house, careful to sidestep the usual barrage of animals that fled the scene as soon as he opened the door.

"Grandpa, I'm home!" he called.

"Oh, wonderful, Shortman!" The boy's elder appeared in the doorway to the living room. "How'd the visit to your freakish little cousin go?"

Arnold shivered visibly. "It was… interesting. Honestly I just want to go and get cleaned up. I still feel like I'm covered in 'good ol' country dirt,'" he explained. He waved to everyone in the next room. "Goodnight guys!"

There were a few mumbled "goodnight, Arnold" sentiments here and there, but everyone's eyes remained on the television screen for the most part.

Arnold quickly deposited his suitcase on top of his bed and rummaged through to find his showering items. _Anything to get the feel of Arnie's farm off of me,_ he mused before heading towards the bathroom.

_Huh, that's strange,_ he thought as he heard some humming coming from within the restroom, _I thought everyone was downstairs. Wait, is that a __**girl's**__ voice? I __**know**__ that Grandma and Suzie were down there._ Arnold was still puzzling over the mysterious voice when the bathroom door was suddenly flung open. The poor boy merely gasped, unable to really take in what he saw. Before him was an average height, beautiful female wearing a purple nightgown, a white towel adorning her head. Upon seeing his face, the girl stopped humming and whipped the towel off of her head, allowing her long red hair to flow down her back.

"Um, hi," She said, giving him a small wave.

"Hi…" Arnold was dumbfounded. Who was this girl? Where did she come from? Did Grandpa know she was here?

"I'm Lucky Stevenson, the new tenant," the mysterious girl explained, sticking out her hand. He shook it.

"Arnold. I live here, too."

"Oh, you must be Phil's grandson," she commented as a slightly mischievous smile formed on her face. _Time to implement my plan of action,_ she thought. "You know, it's kind of funny. I have a friend, Cecile, and she is completely **obsessed **with this guy named Arnold."

"Oh, really?" To say Arnold was curious would be an understatement. He never had been able to get that night in the fourth grade out of his head. He remembered Cecile, _his_ Cecile, so shy and sweet, yet still fiery and temperamental. A blonde girl who seemingly appeared out of thin air had stolen his heart away that night. Sure, he had gone through crushes since then, but it was _her_ memory that was burned into his mind forever. Is it possible that this Lucky girl had some connection with the mysterious Cecile?

"Yep, it's really funny, actually. Now that I think about it, at least," she informed him, a few giggles slipping through, "In fact, once she dressed up like some French chick and pretended to be the kid's pen pal who had the same name as her, just so she could go on a date with him!" At this the girl was outright laughing. Arnold had to smile at least a little bit, especially since Lucky's laugh seemed to be so infectious.

"Funny," he said between chuckles, "I seem to recall a date with a French girl named Cecile quite a few years ago. On a Valentine's Day, right?" He sent a hopeful glance at the redhead, who eyes had widened in surprise.

"That was really _you?_" she gasped, "Oh, Cecile is going to _freak!_" Once again her infectious laugh took over. Arnold, however, tried to remain on topic by simply smiling.

"So, uh, you know this Cecile girl, right? I've kind of been trying to find her." The poor boy rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. It was odd really, because he had just met this girl and he hadn't even told _Gerald_ that before. She probably thought that he was a creep, but it was worth it to finally find Cecile, right? Right?

"Why? Do you have a little _thing_ for her or something?" Lucky teased. Arnold winced. He knew that that was coming, and yet he still hadn't managed to come up with a response.

"Well, I-uh, I m-maybe, p-probably not, but I-I mean weirder things have h-happened, right?" Now he was wishing for that laugh again. Anything would be better than the thick awkwardness permeating the air around them.

"Relax, dude, I _guess_ I could have her stop by. After all, she _is_ my best friend."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. But she won't be back until school starts, so you'll have to wait a bit before she's available to come over."

"Well, uh, okay then, I guess. Thanks, Lucky."

"Eh, don't mention it. There's just one stipulation."

"What's that?"

Lucky leaned really close to Arnold by grabbing his shirt, giving him a good view of her brown eyes that seemed to sparkle with mischief and ferocity.

"You break her heart," she began, leaving a dramatic pause punctuated with an intimidating smirk. Arnold swallowed. "Then I'll break your face."

With that she released her iron grip, causing the poor boy to stumble backwards. She gave him a quick little wave before skipping, _skipping,_ off to her room.

That poor football-head had no clue what he was in for.

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><p><strong>AN: Yay, we're finally getting somewhere! Special shout-out to StarvingWriterMaeve and babysgirl2 who reviewed! Thanks so much, and I'm glad you like it so far! Again, if you didn't like it, send me a review so I can improve! And if you did like it, you can let me know that, too. ;) Thanks!**

-NerdilyNi**  
><strong>


	5. Lucky Talk

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I'm glad you guys seem to like to story idea. :)**

**Special shout-outs to my reviewers, Ilovedineverlived, StarvingWriterMaeve, and Agunimon1000! You guys are awesome, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story.**

**Unfortunately, Cecile does not make her entrance until the next chapter. I know you guys are excited for her entrance, but I promise she'll be in the next update! :D**

**Disclaimer: Lucky is mine. Everyone else is Craig Bartlett's, aka the most awesome genius in the entire world.  
><strong>

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><p>Arnold was still getting used to the new tenant. Aside from the threat that she had made to him, the quirky girl actually seemed to be pretty nice. Her humor seemed to be a bit on the sarcastic side, but not overly so.<p>

Lucky was certainly an odd girl. Her sense of style would vary from day to day; one day she'd where a light pink lacy dress, the next she'd be in her mom's punk clothes from the 80s. The only correlation he could find amongst the outfits was that they were all dressy in some way or another. Sure, she'd wear jeans every now and then, but she would at least have a nicer shirt on or something. It was rather peculiar.

Then there was the way she acted. She was nice and all, but definitely strong emotionally. The redhead was just as likely to tell him off as she was to praise him. The girl was always smiling, although sometimes he could tell that her smile had a hidden warning in it. To be honest he was terrified of those little smirks. Nevertheless, she was always one to humor Pookie and Suzie, even though most teenage girls would be hate to be spending a lot of time with women so much older than themselves, but Lucky truly seemed to enjoy it. It was as if she had a childlike fascination in life, even though she was going into her senior year of high school. Arnold found it odd because it was around this time that teens often found themselves trying to get away from their childhoods so that they could taste that adult freedom.

All in all, Lucky was different, and Arnold considered that a good thing. He got the feeling that she was confident in who she was, even though he didn't doubt that there were people out there bound to make fun of her for it. Still, her actions often baffled him.

This topic was finally brought up one night at dinner. Lucky had just finished relaying one of her tales of past adventures to the other boarders. Apparently, the girl had bought a rainbow wig at _Popular Issues_, a store with a punk vibe that sold things related to what kids and teens were into that month. Apparently after wearing the wig, she had gone into the bathroom and put it on, right in the middle of the mall outing. The other boarders found this quite humorous.

"So there I was, wig freshly on, and I'm walking down the hallway to rejoin my friends when this little girl comes walking past with her mother, right?" Lucky's voice was light an humorous, her green eyes twinkling with merriment. "So the little girl points at me and says, 'Mommy, look!' That poor mother hurried her child past me as fast as she could!" Laughing at this point was full and hearty as everyone imagined the comical scene. "It was a lot of fun," the girl added as the guffaws died down, "but I do feel back for the kids I may have traumatized…"

"Oh, I'm sure that they weren't too terribly damaged," Phil reassured her as he continued laughing, "Hoo hee he, I would have paid good money to see the look on other people's faces!"

"Yeah, at first it was a little scary, but after a while I just stopped caring. It's not like it's important what they think," Lucky explained.

"Why are you like that?" Arnold interjected.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Why do you not care if anyone makes fun of you? I mean, everyone cares about that."

"Not me."

"But why?"

To his surprise, the redhead laughed instead of getting angry. "Believe you me, Arnold, at one point I did care," she explained, that light tone still evident, "But I realized that even though I was treating everyone the way I wanted to be treated, there were still people out there that didn't like me." She shrugged.

"So you just stopped caring?"

"Exactly. I'm still nice to them, but I feel a lot better about myself because I can **be** myself. Besides, I know that I'm pretty much insane. Personally, I think people who have a touch of crazy are the most interesting people out there. Coincidentally, they're also the most sane, because they don't worry themselves sick over what other people think of them." She smiled, hoping that she made her point.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense," Arnold mumbled into his food, feeling like he had just been put in his place. Lucky rolled her eyes.

"You shouldn't be embarrassed, Arnold. That was a completely valid question, and I'm actually glad you asked it. You seem like a guy with strong morals, and chances are there are people who don't agree with those, but you don't let them tell you what to do, right?"

"I guess not..."

"See, you're halfway there!" she exclaimed with a smile.

Arnold found himself talking to Lucky that way a lot. She was rather opinionated, but she also seemed to have a reason behind everything she did, and her philosophies on life actually helped him better understand his own. The two actually grew very close, much like a brother and sister. That's probably what made the last night before school started so awkward.

Gerald and a couple of the other guys had come over to play some card games, just like they always did. As they played, they began reminiscing about the years that had passed.

"I'm telling you guys, this year is going to be wicked awesome," Sid commented, "I mean, think about it. We're going to be _seniors_, kings of the school!"

"Mmm, mmm, mmm, I can't tell you how freaked out my mom is right now," Gerald complained, "'Oh, I can't believe my little Gerald is growing up,' and, 'Gerald, we gotta get you applying to those scholarships.' Man, I can't _stand_ it."

"Ah know, fellers. My parents keep talking to me about getting up mah grades," Stinky sympathized, "They jus' can't see that this here head weren't made for no numbers."

"Ah, quit your whining. I've still gotta figure out what I'm gonna do about my job with Mr. Green!" Harold groused.

Arnold rolled his eyes at his friends' complaints. "Come on guys. Sid's right; it's going to be great to be seniors. Besides, tonight we're here to have fun and enjoy our last carefree summer day of our youths."

"Yeah right, Arnold. What fun?" Curly quipped, "Sid keeps taking everyone's money!"

"Hey! It's not my fault I'm getting lucky."

"Curly's right! I reckon you's is cheatin'!"

"Boy howdy, Stinky! I know you're jealous and everything of my good fortune, but if you guys must know, I'm not cheating," Sid explained, pulling something out of his pocket, "It's because of _this._" The boys crowded around to catch a glimpse of what it was. In Sid's hand he held a pressed four-leafed clover taped up to protect its dry leaves from falling apart.

"Gawrsh, that sure is mighty interestin'…"

A voice behind them scoffed. "Please, only one? I've got a _ton_ more than _that_."

The group exchanged a few puzzled glances before looking up at Arnold's door to behold the source of the comment.

There stood an adorable red-haired girl with pigtails, a logo tee-shirt, and a rust colored knee-length skirt that was slight pouffed and she was holding a tray of snacks. Her tee shirt, ironically enough, sported a green four-leafed clover amongst several uncolored three-leafed ones. The majority of the group just stared in bewilderment at the girl.

"Hey, Lucky, what's up?" Arnold broke the awkward silence.

"Not much." She shrugged. "Phil told me to bring these up to you guys."

"Cool, thanks. You can set them down right here." The football head patted the table in front of him.

"'Kay."

As she deposited the tray, she noticed how some of the boys were following her movements.

"Well, uh, guess that's it. Let me know if you guys need anything else," Lucky awkwardly told them as she made her exit. After waiting a couple of seconds to make sure she was out of earshot, the other boys in the group turned to Arnold.

"Mmm, mmm, mmm. Arnold, my main man, I would have expected you to at least tell me that you got a girlfriend over the summer!" Gerald chastised his best friend. Arnold quickly shook his head, denying what Gerald was saying.

"Ew, no Gerald," he hastily explained, "It's not like that at all. Lucky just moved into the boarding house while I was away at Arnie's."

"Oh, so you're grandparents set you up on a date, did they?" Harold teased.

"Guys, come one, you know it's not like that. Lucky's like a sister to me, nothing more."

"In that case, can you give me her number? That girl was wicked hot."

"Sid!" Arnold stared at his friend, horrified, "No! Besides, don't you have a girlfriend?"

"Nah, we split last week."

"Man, Sid, you go through more girl's than any other guy I know," Gerald commented.

"Hey, I like to keep things fresh. So how 'bout that number, Arnold?"

"No Sid."

"Aw, come one, I think it's the least you could do. After all, she was mighty purdy," Stinky attempted to persuade him.

"Ah, you guys are a bunch o' wusses. It was just a dumb girl," Harold groused.

"I dunno, Harold. I mean, did you _see_ her? You don't see a girl like that every day," Sid pointed out. Harold scoffed. He preferred his girlfriend Patty to anyone else. At least Patty never kept him waiting, and she was pretty in her own sort of way, which was how Harold liked it. It was like she was a sparkling diamond that was encased in a simple locked box, and he was the one holding the key.

"Well I'll bet we see a lot more o' her after tomorrah, on account a' we'll probably be going to the same school."

"Actually, she's going to Hillwood Academy."

"Man, that smart school? Geez, I only know of one person smart enough to get into that school, and that's my Phoebe." Gerald puffed out his chest in pride. He and Phoebe had been dating ever since 8th grade.

"Yeah, she seems pretty intelligent," Arnold agreed, hoping they'd drop the subject of Lucky. He felt it was rather awkward to be talking about a girl like that. Besides, Lucky was his friend, making it really weird for him to hear their comments about her physical appearance.

Unfortunately, he wasn't the one in possession of a collection of clovers, so he was out of luck. The boys found themselves turning once again to the entrance to Arnold's room as a knock resonated through the room.

"Come in!" Arnold greeted, and was rewarded by Lucky poking her head inside the room, wearing one of her most wicked smirks.

"Oh, by the way Arnold. Tomorrow's the first day of school, and Cecile is _dying_ to see you again," the girl in question informed him with a wink and a small wave as the exited the room one again. Instead of reverting to their "Lucky talk," however, they had a much more interesting topic in mind.

"Who's Cecile?" Curly asked, vocalizing what most of them were thinking. Arnold pinched the bridge of his nose. He really didn't want to deal with this right now. So much for "carefree summer nights."

"Wait a minute, is this _the_ Cecile? Man, you finally found her?" The African American gaped at his friend. He knew that the football head definitely had a thing for that mysterious young lady who had stolen his heart over seven years ago.

"Sort of, Gerald. Apparently she's one of Lucky's friends."

"Wait, Cecile? Who's she? Aw man, I'm confused!" Harold cried, holding his head in frustration.

"It's nothing guys, just drop it," Arnold assured them.

"I dunno, sounds pretty important to me, huh Stink?" Sid asked his friend. Stinky nodded.

"Hey, relax, okay? If my man Arnold doesn't want to talk about it, he doesn't have to, got it?" Gerald snapped.

The other boys shrugged and got back to their cards. Arnold, grateful for his friend's help, held out his hand for their signature handshake. They wiggled their thumbs together and smiled, signaling the transition back into playing cards.

The boys played cards until 9 o'clock, which coincidentally was the time that Sid cleaned everyone out of their money. Arnold, however, couldn't care less about his losses.

Tomorrow, after all the years of searching, he was finally going to see the girl of his dreams.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Oh, what kinds of shennanigans can Arnold and his friends get into on their first day of school? And what will happen in his first meeting with Cecile? Oh, the joys of controlling the fates of several different characters... :) :P Remember to review! They can only help me improve!  
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**-**NerdilyNi**  
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	6. Charming Luck

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long to upload this! (Well, maybe not necessarily long. It _has_ been less than a week. Still, it felt like an ETERNITY not having this up!) I actually just finished this chapter. For the record, Lucky's four-leaf-clover collection will have a bit of an impact on the story in the later chapters. And the amount of four-leaf-clovers is not unrealistic, as I actually know someone who can go outside, look down, and pick one up within a matter of seconds... -_-**

**Thanks to all who have reviewed! I hope that I continue to live up to your standards. Thanks for the love!  
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**Anyway, this seems to be what many of people have waited for, the entrance of CECILE! Hopefully I did her justice. :)**

**P.S. Sorry for all the false updating stuff. My computer didn't save part of the story that seemed small but wouldn't have made sense chronologically. Sorry about that!  
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**Disclaimer: As far as I know, I still don't own Hey Arnold!. This really bites... :'(  
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* * *

><p>Arnold awoke with excitement, and he had every right to. Not only was today the first day of his senior year, but he also got to see Cecile again. All in all, it was shaping up to be one of the best days of his life.<p>

"Hey, Tex! Why don't you grab a seat while I wrangle up some grub for you and that little lady over there," his grandmother greeted him as he entered the kitchen, gesturing to the girl already sitting at the table. Lucky gave him a small wave.

"You ready for your senior year?" she asked.

"I guess you could say that I'm pretty excited for it." He shrugged, unsure of what else to say.

"You're lucky," she scoffed, "You're not the one that has to start at a completely new school." No matter how hard he tried to hide it, the redhead still noticed the smirk on Arnold's face.

"What?" she demanded.

"Oh nothing, just thinking about how the girl named Lucky is calling _me_ lucky," he explained, earning an eye-roll from his companion before realizing what she had previously said. "Wait, did you say _new_ school?"

"Uh, yeah. That's why I moved here, remember?"

"But then how do you know Cecile? Isn't she a friend from school?"

Lucky's eyes widened in shock for a brief moment. How could she have overlooked that simple fact? No matter, she could explain this away _somehow_.

"I never SAID that she was from school," the girl explained quickly, "We met at, uh, summer camp, yeah, that's right. The two of us were stuck in the same tent at summer camp a few years back and we hit it off. When she heard about my acceptance into the Academy, she nearly flipped that we would actually be able to spend some time together." In all honesty, she was impressed with herself for being able to come up with such a convincing lie in such short notice.

"Oh, okay," Arnold replied, letting the subject drop.

"Hey, relax kid." She put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Just get through this first day, and Cecile and I will be over before you know it."

The thought caused Arnold to sigh contently. _Only a few more hours,_ he thought.

H3AA3H

Arnold wasn't sure what he expected, but it certainly wasn't this.

Helga had changed over the summer, but he had figured that was inevitable. Sure, she still looked the same, and maybe she hadn't really changed her personality all that much, if at all, but there was still something up. For some reason he couldn't stop thinking about Helga.

Maybe she had done her hair up differently. Yeah, that had to be it; she just had different… pigtails. Or maybe it was her voice. Arnold had heard of girls whose voices had changed when going through puberty. It could happen, right?

But the football head knew. His fixation on Helga had nothing to do with how she had acted or looked. She wasn't doing anything different than she normally did. So why couldn't he just shut his brain up?

It couldn't have anything to do with watching that new kid flirting with her, did it?

H3AA3H

Helga was seething. How dare that boy interrupt her Arnold-filled daydreams just to "chat" with her. Even now she scoffed at the notion. She knew full well that the beef-for-brains new kid was trying to flirt with her. Honestly, she wasn't impressed at all. It wasn't just the fact that he wasn't Arnold; she just really didn't like the guy. He seemed more like a pompous jerk to her. She hadn't even bothered to ask his name. Oh well. Hopefully Rhonda would have him in her clutches as her boyfriend of the week in no time.

Still, when Helga though about it, the attention hadn't been all _that _bad. After all, it was a guy, and the look on Arnold's face was priceless. The girl happily noted that the object of her affection was not too happy to see her giggling with another. Sure it was creepy and obsessive, but Helga actually found it touching. After all, she had spent nearly her entire life being creepy and obsessive over the guy, surely it was time for the tables to have been turned a _little._

The thought made her smile, until she remembered that she was supposed to be focusing. She had to be prepared, as Lucky had warned her yesterday on the phone.

_"Okay Pataki, tomorrow's the big day. You nervous?"_

_ "Are you kidding Clover Girl? You're talking to Helga G. Pataki, the Pink Thunder of __Hillwood High. __**Of course**__ I'm terrified!"_

_ "Relax. I told Arnold my school lets out an hour later than it actually does. I'll see to it that you are properly educated as to the way things run at the Academy, and we've already made up our friendship back-__stories. We've got this; __**you've**__ got this. So take a chill pill already!"_

_ "Alright, but you'd better pull through, Lucky, because if you don't, ol' Betsy's gonna start making a few __**house calls."**_

_ A laugh was heard over the phone._

_ "Sure she will, Helga."_

Criminy, what had she gotten herself into? She couldn't pretend to be Cecile again. It hadn't even worked the first time! Yet Lucky had gone through so much trouble to get her to this point, she had to go through with it. Sure, Helga may be a brash, rude, and self-centered little witch sometimes, but she still cared for her friends, and Phoebe and Lucky were the closest ones she had. If she didn't do this, she would not only be giving up the chance of a lifetime with Arnold, but she would also be snubbing their efforts. That was something Helga _definitely_ didn't want.

_ Calm down, Helga,_ she mentally scolded herself, _In just a few short hours you could be studying with __**Arnold.**_The thought made her smile.

She just hoped she wouldn't screw it up.

H3AA3H

"Alright Helga, there's been a slight complication in one of our stories," Lucky warned as she unexpectedly burst through Helga's bedroom door and slammed it shut behind her. Hillwood High School had just let out a few minutes ago and Helga had just arrived home.

"Lucky? What're you-… How'd you even get in here?" she shouted.

"Your parents recognized me I guess." The redhead shrugged. "But that's not important right now. What's important is the fact that Arnold might notice a few holes in our stories. I thought you said the kid was dense?"

"He _is_ dense. I don't know what you're talking about."

"Ugh! Whatever. Just know that we met at summer camp, okay?"

"Wait, I thought we were friends from sch-"

"Yeah, that works seeing as I'm _the new __kid in school._"

"Oh," Helga hit her forehead, "Doi! Why didn't we catch that?"

"I don't know, but the fact remains that Arnold _did._"

"Criminy, Hair Boy finally got a brain."

"That's my point, Pataki," Lucky insisted, "We'd better keep on our toes if we want to pull this off, got it?"

"Doi! Now come on, we've only got a short amount of time before Arnold expects you at the boarding house with _Cecile_."

The other girl smiled. "I'm way ahead of you."

H3AA3H

"You ready for this?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, Clover Girl."

Lucky nodded as she did a mental once-over of Helga, or rather "Cecile." She had to admit that Helga looked like a different person. Gone were her pigtails, leaving her slightly wavy and golden blonde hair to hang delicately on her shoulders. She had foregone her pink in lieu of a Hillwood Academy uniform of a red and navy plaid skirt and a light blue button up under a navy blazer, the Hillwood Academy crest visible on its breast pocket. True to Cecile's fashion, however, she wore a small pink bow toward the back of her head, and even though she couldn't hide her striking blue eyes, she managed to change their fiery glint to a happy sparkle.

The "gifted" girl had to admit that Helga was a fantastic actress. With a satisfied smirk she opened the door.

"Why hello there, little leprechaun," Pookie greeted the duo as she appeared in the doorway adjoining the kitchen, "Why Eleanor, long time no see! How's the President doing?"

Helga's eyes widened. Pookie _knew._ The poor blonde girl remembered the old woman referring to her as Eleanor on one of her deluded adventures concerning her love for Arnold. If the boy's crazy grandmother could tell it was her, then what about the boy himself?

Lucky didn't know what was going on. She knew that Helga had been in the boarding house before as they had exchanged some pretty crazy stories at camp, but how did Pookie figure in? And what was up with the whole "Eleanor" deal?

One look at Helga's face, however, and she knew that "Eleanor" meant Pookie knew something that she shouldn't. The blonde girl looked ready to bolt, but Lucky wouldn't let her. Smiling widely, she started to go past the older woman.

"Very funny, Pookie," she said, leading Helga up the stairs, "This is _Cecile_, not Eleanor. Anyway, we'd better get going now, because Arnold's expecting us."

"Well, alright then. You girl's have fun!"

With that, Helga and Lucky ran up the stairs and into Lucky's room.

"What, pray tell, was _that_?" the redhead demanded.

"Criminy, just drop it!" Helga snapped, "Let's just hope that the Football Head is as dense as he used to be."

"Whatever happened to keeping on our toes?"

"Geez, Lucky, what are we supposed to do? It's not as if I've got the greatest luck in the world!"

A mischievous spark was lit in the other girl's eyes.

"_You_ might not have the greatest luck," she said, "but _I_ just might…"

"What're you-?" Helga stopped short as Lucky pulled her into her room. The blonde girl stopped short and stared at the room before her. Lucky had definitely left her mark on the place. It had been painted lavender, true to the red-head's favorite color, and had a multicolored canopy hanging over the bed. Around the room were posters ranging from fairies, to puppies and kittens, to what one should do in a zombie apocalypse. Things like wind chimes and prisms were hung from the ceiling, and there was a hand-made DNA molecule displayed on her desk next to her trumpet music books. Helga found this somewhat humorous, as she knew for a fact that Lucky only knew how to play the drums.

On a shelf across the room, the blonde girl could see some fairy figurines, one of those light up rubber balls, a wind-chimes alarm clock, and a small stuffed dog that were set up in front of several notebooks, puzzle books, and year books. While Helga stared in awe, Lucky rummaged through one of her light pink dresser drawers and pulled out a small circular tin. She proudly held it out to her friend.

"What the heck is this?" the blonde demanded, finally snapped out of her trance.

"Just open it!"

Following orders, the lid was removed. Helga was dumbfounded.

"Are you sure these'll work?"

"I'm pretty sure," Lucky replied confidently.

"How'd you _get_ all of these?"

"Just around, okay?"

"Wow…"

"Just take 'em, alright? I've got more around here somewhere-"

"More?"

"Yes! Geez, _Cecile,_ my name has to mean _something._"

"Yeah, but I didn't think it would mean that you had 50 bajillion four-leafed clovers! I guess I was right in calling you Clover Girl."

Her companion rolled her eyes. She had just given Helga one of her tins of four-leaf clovers. Each tin was identical, small, round, and green with a pink L on the lid, and a single one held about 70 clovers.

"Whatever, you just need all of the luck you can get right now."

"I guess so."

"Well I know so." Lucky flashed her a reassuring smile. "Come on, there's someone who's _dying_ to see you." The redhead grabbed her hand and pulled her out the door.

_Criminy,_ Helga thought, _what am I getting myself into?_

H3AA3H

Arnold heard a knock on his door as he was working on some Calculus problems. Even though it was only the first day Arnold was confused. Why hadn't he just stopped at Trigonometry like Gerald?

"Come on in!" he called, still preoccupied with his work. He heard the door open and shut but didn't bother to lift his head.

"Hey Arnold," Lucky greeted him.

"Oh, hey Lucky," the boy replied, continuing to work out the problem on his paper. The redhead rolled her eyes and nudged the girl next to her.

"Hey Arnold."

_That_ caught his attention. The voice was a little different, but it was still the sweet and somewhat frightened tone that he remembered. Slowly, he lifted his eyes to his visitors.

"Cecile," he breathed.

There she was, a truly beautiful vision of old things remembered. Her shining golden hair, her sparkling blue eyes, and even her bow were just as he remembered them. Yet there was also something a little different, because now she was a woman.

"Cecile" gave him a soft and shy smile. Lucky winked at the two of them.

"I think I'll leave you two to 'get acquainted,'" she announced, a smirk evident on her face.

"Wait, Luck-" the other girl began.

"That sounds like a good idea," Arnold interrupted. His sisterly-friend nodded as she exited the room, closing the door behind her.

Instead of talking, however, the two just stared at each other for a little while awkwardly, unsure of what to say. How could Arnold describe how he felt after finally finding the girl of his dreams? Shakily, he drew a breath and decided to give it his best shot.

"You're one tough girl to find," he told her, a jovial smile evident on his lips.

"What do you mean?" Cecile asked.

"Oh nothing. I was just starting to think that you were only a figment of my imagination." He chuckled lightly. "I should've known that I could never have imagined anything so beautiful."

"Cecile" blushed. Inwardly, Helga was simply confused. Beautiful? Her? She really doubted it.

"Well, you're not too bad yourself," she finally admitted. Arnold smiled.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

"Well, uh, if you don't mind my asking, I've got a few questions for you."

"Ask away," Helga granted her permission.

"Uh, okay. Um, is your real name Cecile?" That was the question that had been burning in his mind ever since he met Lucky.

"Uh, y-yeah. I-I mean of course, why?" she stuttered. Criminy, why did he have to ask THAT?

"I just think it's odd. I mean, back on our big date, you said you couldn't tell me who you were."

"Well, I, um, um, I, uh, you see, the thing is," she stammered, unable to actually form a reason.

"Hey, it's okay, alright? After all, we were only in the fourth grade, and that _was_ a long time ago. It's okay if you don't remember, I just wanted to ask." He gave her a small smile, his eyes half-lidded. Helga had to stop herself from swooning.

"So, um, what should we do now?" she asked awkwardly, unsure of how long she could keep her emotions in check if he kept staring at her like that.

"Oh! Uh, I guess I hadn't thought about that," he admitted sheepishly as his hand made contact with the back of his neck, "Uh… oh, I know! I've got some Calculus homework. You're smart, right? Maybe you could help me."

"Wha-what makes you think that?"

"I just figured that, since you go to the Academy and all, you'd know what to do. I mean, the people there are geniuses, right?"

"Oh, right, heh heh heh," she laughed nervously. _Come on, think Helga!_ she scolded herself, _What did Lucky say about t__he Academy?_

"I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to. We can always do something else."

"W-well the thing is, _Arnold_, that I'd simply love to help, b-but I, uh, well, I- I'm not enrolled for academia. My strengths lie within the arts," she said confidently, glad that she had remembered, even if her memory was a tad bit tardy. Finally past one of the harder questions he was bound to ask, she began to feel a little more at ease and started to get a good look around his room. Sure, it wasn't her first time in it, but it had been her first time in it _invited_. Cecile definitely would appear curious about it.

"Oh, okay. What kind of art do you do?"

"Writing," she commented without thinking as she continued to look about his room.

"Really? Well I guess I should have figured that. You did say some kind of poetic things back then…"

"Poetic? What do you mean?"

"Don't you remember? 'The most beautiful gift can come in the plainest box,'" he quoted.

"You thought THAT was poetic?"

"I dunno," he mumbled, blushing deeply, "Maybe that guy with the violin made it seem more like that."

"Oh Arnold." She rolled her eyes with a smile and giggled.

"Hey, I've got an idea! Why don't you show me something you've written sometime?"

"That's probably not the best idea," she told him.

"Why?"

"I, uh, I'm just very, um, _private_ about my work, heh heh," she chuckled nervously.

"Oh, okay." He was clearly disappointed, with good reason. Even if Cecile was crazy about him, she still didn't trust him enough to tell him what she was thinking.

"Hey, Arnold, don't sound so depressed. I don't show _anybody_ my work," she explained as if reading his thoughts, then added with a smile, "But who knows? Maybe someday you could be the first."

The football headed boy smiled widely with hope. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but he was interrupted by his bedroom door bursting open.

"Man, you'll never guess what just happened at Gerald Field, Arnold!" Gerald announced as he entered the room, completely oblivious to "Cecile's" presence.

"Uh, Gerald-"

"I mean it was ridiculous! The Jolly Olly man finally got ticked off enough to overturn his own truck! Geez, that guy has some anger issues-"

"Um, Gerald-"

"But hey, free ice cream is free ice cream, and it seemed as if every kid in Hillwood had heard about in the thirty seconds since I watched it happen. It was crazy, man!"

"Gerald-"

"It was like an all you can eat ice cream buffet-"

"HEY GERALD!"

That finally got the African American's attention. He gave his blonde friend an oblivious look.

"What?"

Arnold smiled slightly and gestured toward the female in the room. Gerald's eyes got wide as he slowly turned around. When his eyes finally fell on the girl's face, they nearly popped out of his sockets. He couldn't believe it. After searching for so long, his friend had finally found the girl of his dreams. It was a rather shocking turn of events, and Gerald could hardly believe that Arnold's mystery girl really existed.

"Cecile?" he clarified, "Wait, you actually _exist?_ Man, you had Arnold here worried sick about whether or not he'd ever see you again. My name's Gerald. If you recognize me, it's because I saved both Arnold's and your butts during your big 'date.'" He chuckled to himself.

Helga held herself back from growling. This moron was standing in between her and a reunion with her love, and Helga had never wanted anything more than some time alone with Arnold. The problem had always been that Arnold didn't want to spend some time alone with _her._ But Cecile was different. Cecile was kind. Cecile was _nice._ Arnold _liked_ Cecile. So why did Tall Hair Boy have to come along and ruin it?

"Um, Gerald, we're kind of in the middle of something," Arnold explained, his had once again familiarizing itself with his neck. Helga shot him a grateful smile. He wanted to be _alone_ with her!

"Ah, I get it dude. You want to spend some time with your girl." The African American boy winked at the two.

"Gerald, she's not-"

"Uhuh, sure. Save it, Romeo. Hey, I've got an idea! Why don't you and Cecile double with me and Phoebe! Phoebe sure could use some civilized company with all the time she spends with _Helga._" He shivered at the girl's name.

It was all Helga could do not to laugh or growl. She wanted to growl at Gerald for his obvious disdain for her, but she wanted to laugh at the irony at the same time. After all, she was the same girl underneath all the lies and deception.

"Well, I, uh-" Arnold didn't know what to make of the offer. Sure, he'd love to go on a double date with Cecile, but did she?

"I could go for a double date," "Cecile" interjected before blushing, "I mean, if it's okay with you, Arnold."

"Sounds good to me," the football head agreed, relieved that Cecile wanted to spend more time with him.

"Great! I'll let my girl know," Gerald informed them as he moved closer to the door, "So I guess I'll leave you two to get everything settled." With one final wink, he exited the room.

"So, Arnold," Cecile smiled, "Who is that Helga person that sounds so awful?"

"Actually, Cecile, she's not so bad. I don't know why Gerald can't seem to stand her."

The boy shrugged and completely missed the lovesick smile that came across the face of the girl in front of him.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So Arnold and Cecile/Helga have a date. With Phoebe and Gerald. Which means that Lucky will be left all alone with no one to talk to, not even her secret best friends... But I'm _sure_ she'll think of something. What do you think she'll do?  
><strong>

**So, if you have any suggestions as to my portrayal of characters or any shenanigans you'd like to see happen, feel free to send a review! I also accept compliments, corrections, and constructive criticism! :P**

-NerdilyNi


	7. Of Life and Luck

**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated NEARLY as often as I would have liked... I've just been super busy with school related business, darn it.**

**Anyways, this is more of a filler chapter, but of course SOME things happen that need to happen. I apologize if Sid's part seems a bit random, but he it is definitely essential to the plot. Otherwise it wouldn't matter.**

**In other news, I hope you enjoy chapter seven of Lucky Shot! (Chapter seven, holy cow! And we're nowhere near finished! O_O)**

**I have no clue currently as to how long this is going to be, but I'm pretty excited!**

**Thank you to all who have reviewed, favorited, and followed this story! It makes me want to write more when I see people wanting to read more. :D**

**Disclaimer: I *coughDON'Tcough* own Hey Arnold!... My life is very depressing... -_-**

* * *

><p>"Hey there, Football Head."<p>

Arnold turned to see his longtime bully, Helga Pataki, behind him.

"Hi, Helga," he greeted her as he began his trek to the high school. He could drive and had his own car, but why drive when a walk would only take ten minutes? After all, it served as a great form of exercise and also saved him some gas money.

"So, Phoebe tells me that she and Gerald have a double date with you and some blonde chick."

"Her name's Cecile," Arnold clarified, wondering why Helga was talking about it. He was also a bit annoyed by her calling his crush "some blonde chick."

"Well I've never heard of her," she scoffed.

"She goes to the Academy."

"Oh, so she's one of those prissy goody-little-two-shoes. I should warn Pheebs about this; the girl probably thinks she's the smartest thing in the world." She laughed hollowly at the suggestion.

"Helga, Cecile's not like that," he insisted. The Pink Thunder rolled her eyes.

"Sure she's not. Face it; every kid who goes to that school is some rich kid who has had enough tutors to be able to think that they're smarter than everyone else."

"No they're not! You don't know what you're talking about." He turned away from her, seemingly focused on his path.

"Oh yeah? Do you even know anyone who goes to the academy besides this girl?"

"As a matter of fact I do," Arnold retorted.

"Really? Who?" Helga pressed, "Betcha whoever it is doesn't really exist."

Arnold clenched his teeth. Only Helga was able to frustrate him this much. She didn't even have to try. Every time she took a harsh tone or said some sarcastic little quip, he got confused inside. On one hand he was genuinely annoyed because of Helga's rudeness, but on the other he felt a little happy that she was paying attention to him. Of course, then he'd try to suppress those feelings, which made him even more annoyed because they wouldn't just _stay_ down.

The football head shook his head, trying to maintain focus on the question.

"Her name is Lucky, okay?"

Helga forced herself to laugh her meanest laugh, as if he had just said something so stupid, it was laughable. Arnold just got an annoyed look on his face.

"What kind of a name is Lucky?" she jeered. The boy decided to ignore her and quickened his pace. He was more annoyed than flattered right now. "Oh wait, is that the girl that Sid has been going on about? That one that is 'smokin' hot?'"

"He really needs to cut that out," Arnold told her, confirming that it was, indeed, the same girl.

"So that chick lives in the same house as you, and yet you're dating a friend from her school?" Helga teased, "Wow, look at you, Hair Boy, being Mr. Casanova."

"Watch it Helga. It's not like that and you know it. Lucky's like a sister to me; an odd, eccentric, date-setting up sister."

"Right," she stated skeptically, "I'll betcha ten to one that your date is a total flop."

A dreamy look passed over Arnold's face.

"No way," he told her, even though he was clearly somewhere else in his mind, "Everything is going to be perfect."

By this time the two had reached their destination and Arnold entered the school. His companion, however, stayed behind and wistfully stared at her beloved, glad that he was looking forward to _their_ date.

Glancing from side to side, she took some refuge behind a nearby dumpster. Reaching down the front of her pink jumper, she pulled out her Arnold locket with an updated picture of him that she had gotten from Phoebe, who was usually around Gerald and Arnold when she wasn't with Helga. Staring at it lovingly, the blonde girl swooned.

"Oh Arnold, my beloved," she began, her voice light and airy, "So naïve, so deliciously dense. Alas, I cannot reveal to you who I am in fear that you will shun or reject me. How could you not, after all of the horrible things that I've done to you? How my actions stain my very soul as they do wrong to you! Oh why must I act this way? Why must I don a disguise in order to face you? You, the person I love more than life itself. Oh, my love, the keeper of my heart, you can't possibly know how it pains me to trick you so. I, the prankster, so loathe my most recent prank, for it causes you to fall for another. Okay, well, not technically another." Her face contorted into confusion and her airy voice left her, "I mean, it's still me, right? He's falling in love with me! Well, actually Cecile. Who I am… Oh criminy! I'm still that same old batty basket case!" She groaned in exasperation just as a familiar wheeze was heard from behind her. Her face settling into a straight scowl, she glared and focused straight ahead as her fist flew back and socked Brainy in his nose.

H3AA3H

"Hey, Arnold! Just the man I was looking to see!" Sid made a beeline for his oblong-headed friend as he entered the calculus class the two shared.

Arnold rolled his eyes. After his encounter with Helga, he really wasn't up for more nonsense.

"What do you want, Sid?" he asked, clearly annoyed.

"I was just wondering if I could come over to your house this afternoon or something. I mean, come on, we don't hang out as much as we used to." The stringy-haired boy smiled hopefully. Arnold wasn't buying it.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with a tenant of the boarding house, would it?" he asked.

"What? Oh, pfft, no. Of course not. I mean, why would you- how could you- you know-"

"Sid, I know what you're trying to do and it's not going to work. You guys really freaked out Lucky the last time you were over."

"Well could you blame us for staring? We were having a guys night, and then in comes this hot girl that we've never seen before _and_ it seems like she's available. Come on, Arnold. You do the math."

"You really don't get it, do you? There is a lot more to Lucky than what there appears to be. She's not one of those little Barbie dolls that_ you_ date for a week and then throw away."

"Wow, getting a little defensive there, are we?" Sid remarked.

"Knock it off, Sid. She probably wouldn't go for you, anyway. She's a bit… different, from most girls."

"How different could she be?"

"Let's see, one of her proudest moments involves publicly embarrassing herself with a rainbow wig, she has an extensive four-leaf-clover collection, her favorite outfit involves a tie-dyed skirt that she dyed herself, she made a DNA molecule _for fun_, she likes spending time with Suzie and Grandma, and she owns music books for an instrument _that she doesn't play._ I'm not sure you could handle that kind of insanity." He smiled, sure that Sid would leave him alone now. No such luck.

"You underestimate me, Arnold. On the contrary, Lucky's eccentricities just make her all the more interesting."

"Sid, lay off! I'm not going to let you anywhere near Lucky!"

"Excuse me, but shouldn't that be the girl's decision?" Eugene butt in. Arnold growled inwardly. Eugene had no clue what the situation was.

"Yeah, Eugene's right," Sid stated smugly, "It should be _her_ choice whether to see me or not."

"Well guess what," Arnold snapped, "I'm not going to help you talk to her, so just deal with it."

"Oh come on, Arnold! Just give me her number!"

"No."

"That's not fair."

"Sid, at this point I really don't care."

"Please, just do me this one favor. I swear, I'll never bug you again!"

"Knock it off. I'm not in the mood."

"I'm not going to leave you alone until I get her number."

"No!"

"Why not?"

"Because I know you, Sid. You won't respect her."

"Yes I would! I'd be a regular gentleman."

"No means no!"

"Oh Arnold just give him the girl's stinking number, would you?"

The three boys turned to see Helga in the doorway. Surprisingly enough, she was in their class, too. No one had pegged Helga to be taking advanced math classes, but then again, Sid and Eugene were in the class as well, so pretty much anything was possible.

"Helga, would you please stay out of this?" Arnold requested.

"I'm just saying, if this girl really exists like you say she does, then you should be able to fork over her number."

"Helga, we've already proved that Lucky exists."

"Whatever. The point is that you should give her number to Sid. I mean, criminy, if she's so smart that she goes to the Academy, then she should be smart enough to turn Nose Boy down herself."

"Hey!"

"Shut up, I'm helping your case."

"Oh, right."

Arnold sighed. There was no way that these three were going to let up until Lucky's number was forfeited.

"Fine," he consented, and got out a scrap of paper to write down the girl's number. "Just don't bother her too much, okay? She's a really nice person and doesn't deserve to be harassed," he told his friend, handing over the slip of paper.

"Boy howdy, Arnold! Thanks! Thanks a million!"

The four teens dispersed to their seats as the bell rang, and Arnold gave a slight smile as he sat down. _Maybe Sid would be good for Lucky,_ he thought,_ Maybe they'll wind up going out, and she could straighten him out. After all they would make a cute couple. Lucky __**is**__ pretty cute in and of herself, almost a cute as Helga. Now __**she's**__ hot._

The blonde boy's eyes snapped wide open. Helga? Hot? Why did his brain think _that_ when he let it go on autopilot?

A3HH3A

Lucky hung out at the park while waiting until it was safe to go home. By telling Arnold that her school got out an hour later than his, even though it didn't, she had resigned herself to steering clear of the boarding house or wherever it was that Arnold liked to hang out until she supposedly got out of school. It was annoying, but at least it got her out of the house.

A sound came from her pocket, a peculiar ringtone of some 80s song. Lucky fished her phone out of her pocket and looked at the yellow device, stopping to check the caller id before answering it. When she saw who it was, she smiled.

"Hey Helga, what's up?" she answered cheerfully.

"Not much. I'm pretty excited about my date with Arnold, Phoebe, and Gerald. It's going to be amazing!" Lucky laughed at her friend's happy tone. She would bet anything that Helga was acting light and bubbly right now, something that she would have paid good money to see. After all, this was Helga G. Pataki, and it wasn't as if she acted like this too often.

"Yeah. Oh, by the way, thanks for sending the love _my_ way," she sarcastically joked in a good-natured way.

"Oh, that's right! I _may_ have set you up on a date…"

"WHAT?" Lucky was shocked. She hadn't been serious, and she was hoping that Helga was just pulling her leg.

"Oh, come on. You need to get out there if you're going to make friends."

"Friends I can understand, but a boyfriend? Isn't it a little early to be thinking about that?"

"What do you mean early? I've been waiting to have a certain guy for my boyfriend since my first day of preschool!"

"And how far have you gotten with that in how many years?"

"Yeah, yeah, rub that in my face why don't you."

"So who's the guy?'

"His name's Sid. He's a bit goofy, always obsessing over killing vampires, and very superstitious."

"Oh great. An oddball," she quipped, fully aware of how ironic the statement was.

"Says the girl who brought an actually cradle in her room in order to take care of the baby doll for her Child Growth and Development class," Helga reminded her, slightly bemused.

"Good point. So what exactly are he and I going to do on this supposed 'date' that I may just decide to skip out on." The last comment caused Helga to scoff.

"Oh please; you're way too nice to just skip out on a date. Besides, he's going to call you to set it up. You're still free to answer no if you want."

"I might, but I'll probably give him a shot anyway."

"Aw, aren't you the little accommodating one?"

"Zip it, Pataki. I just don't want to turn down someone who I don't even know."

"Criminy, you _are_ way too nice." Lucky laughed at her friend's reaction as she checked her watch.

"Hey, Helga, I need to get going. I've got to get started on my homework soon, and I'd like to start it at the boarding house. I'm _finally_ free to go home. Do you realize how much I've sacrificed for you?" she joked.

"Ah, quit your whining, ya big wuss."

"Love you, too." The redhead laughed once more as she hung up her phone and stuck it in her pocket. She went to where she had deposited her book bag and lifted it with a slight grunt; she didn't bother putting her books in her locker because her classes were nowhere near her locker and so she wouldn't be able to get them during the day. The classes at her old school hadn't required nearly as many heavy textbooks. She sighed, glad that she had a challenge at school for once, but a bit disappointed that it was mostly a physical challenge. Even though the girl excelled in academics, her coordination had always been lacking. Slowly but surely she covered the distance between her and the place where she now lived.

Arnold was waiting for her when she got there.

"Okay, Lucky, now please _don't_ kill me," he told her firmly, his hands acting as some sort of barrier. She smirked.

"Now really Arnold, why would I want to hurt you at all?" she asked in a too-innocent voice.

"Uh, heh, no reason, I just, uh, I-"

"What did you do?" The innocent tone had faded into a blunt one.

"I kind of, ahem, gaveaguyyournumber," he mumbled the last few words.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"I, uh, gave a guyyournumber, heh heh-"

"Oh, really now? Let me guess, it's that kid who had that one clover from the day before school started, am I right?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

She shrugged. "Lucky guess." Her eyes widened as she realized what she had just said. "No pun intended," she added quickly.

"Of course," Arnold reassured her good-naturedly, chuckling slightly.

"Why'd he want my number, anyway?"

"I don't know. He likes you, I guess."

"Oh, and you have no clue how a guy could like me, is that it, Arnold?"

"No! That's not what I- ugh…"

"Relax, Shortman. I'm just pulling your leg." She stuck her tongue out at him. Arnold sent a playful glare her way. She gave him a look of innocence. "What?"

The football headed boy shook his head and sighed. "You're weird."

"Wow. Thanks. That's really great for the self-esteem, you know that?"

"What happened to not caring?"

"Fine, use my own personal philosophies against Foo-Arnold." She mentally scolded herself for almost using Helga's nickname for him. He wasn't supposed to know that the two of them knew each other, and 'Football Head' was a dead giveaway. She waved her hand dismissively. "Anywho, I don't know about you, but I've got a ton of homework to finish, so I'll see you at dinner, okay?" the clover-finder suggested as she moved to enter the boarding house. Without waiting for a reply, she headed up to her room, leaving a confused Arnold behind her.

H3AA3H

"Phoebe, I'm telling you, you would be bored even in _these _classes," Lucky explained to her Asian friend over the phone. She had just finished her homework and had at least two more hours until dinner time. "They give us tons of work, but it's all so _easy._ I don't get how you can stand regular classes."

"Well, I guess I'm just happier at a public school. What _I_ don't understand is how you could just switch schools for your senior year of high school!"

"I wanted a challenge. It's pretty depressing for me to realize that even though I taking harder classes, they're excruciatingly easy"

"Yet in order for you to take such classes, you had to move away from all of your friends," Phoebe reminded her friend sadly. She was glad that Lucky was there to share the burden of Helga's insane love life, but she also felt a bit of pit for the girl, seeing as she had sacrificed so much by switching schools.

"Eh, it seemed necessary. Besides, I think it'll make adjusting to college easier, seeing as I'm already living 'away from home.' I felt it was something I needed to experience."

"I'm sorry, Lucky, I just can't seem to get a grasp on how you do it."

The redhead laughed heartily. "Don't think about it too much, okay Phoebe?"

"I guess," the Japanese girl responded uneasily as a call-waiting beep sounded on Lucky's end.

"I guess I should let you go, Pheebs. Someone else is calling me," she explained as her finger moved over to the 'end' button on her phone.

"That's fine. Ja-ne, Lucky!"

"Talk to you later. Peace!"

After successfully ending the call, the odd Stevenson girl introduced herself to the person on her other line, "Hello, you've reached Lucky Stevenson. May I inquire as to who is calling?"

"Uh, hi, Lucky. This is Sid. I don't know if you remember me," came the nervous reply.

"Sid…. Nope, I'm sorry, that name doesn't ring a bell."

"I was, um, one of those guys from Arnold's room the other day," Sid explained, his voice still tense. He hadn't anticipated this level of nervousness when he had dialed the number Arnold had given him.

"Oh, you mean one of those guys that was staring at me?" she replied harshly, rolling her eyes and smirking in the process, "Yeah, _I noticed_."

Sid's eyes widened, his mouth moving but no sound coming out before he regained his ability to stutter, "Look, I-I-I-I'm r-really s-s-sorry and I r-really didn't m-m-m-mean to stare so much, i-it's just th-that-"

He was cut short by a girl's laugh. "Relax, I'm just giving you a hard time," she let him know. Sid sighed in relief.

"Good, because it'd be really bad if you were really angry with me when I told you why I called."

"And why did you call, my good sir?" she asked playfully, throwing the boy for a loop. It was clear that he hadn't expected _that_.

"W-well I was just calling to, um, to see if maybe, uh, if you didn't have anything BETTER to do- that is, if it isn't too much trouble, could you possibly consider the idea of maybe, I don't know- if you don't have anything better to do-"

"Sid, spit it out!" The girl on the other end was obviously impatient.

"I was thinking that maybe," he took a deep breath and made the plunge, "youwouldliketogooutwithme."

The seconds of silence of her contemplating his offer seemed like an eternity to the boy with the stringy hair and the ever-present backwards hat.

"Sure, I don't see why not."

"Really? That's great!" Lucky could almost hear the other teen beaming through the phone. "How about I come over and take you out around seven on Friday?"

"Sounds good. Morning or evening?"

"Wait, what?" a confused Sid wanted to know, causing his future date to laugh.

"Nothing, see you then."

"Oh, okay then. Bye Lucky."

"Bye Sid."

She ended the call and smiled. Sure, the kid seemed like he wasn't very fast on the uptake, but he could always be trained. Besides, he did seem pretty intriguing, and it would be interesting to see what boys in this area did on dates. Who knew?

"Helga might not be the only girl getting a boyfriend," she said to herself, a smile spreading across her face. Hillwood seemed to be shaping up to be an interesting place.

A3HH3A

"I don't know what it is," Arnold told himself as he paced around his room. "Why do I keep think of _Helga_ of all people?"

It didn't make sense. After everything the poor boy had gone through in his life coexisting with Helga G. Pataki, he really didn't deserve her infiltrating his thoughts, too. After all, the girl spent their school days torturing him, even to this day. Yet there had always been something about her that didn't quite fit with her bullying image. What was it? Was it that pleasantly and comfortably worn beanie? Or maybe her cute, blonde pigtails? Now that he thought about it, it was probably the way that, in that split second before she scowled at him, this pleasant, warm look came across her face before her dazzling blue eyes seemed to catch fire, like a hidden passion…

He smacked himself on the forehead, unaware of the loving, half-lidded look he had worn on his face only seconds earlier. What was wrong with him?

"Okay, Arnold, focus. Do NOT think of Helga anymore, got it? Think of Cecile, the girl that you've been waiting for since the fourth grade. Think of Friday night, when you finally get to treat her to the date she deserved so long ago, that she STILL deserves. Think of how soft her hair looks and how blonde it is; almost as blonde as Helga's," he remembered, a dreamy smile spreading across his face, "And how her pink bow reminds you of the one Helga used to wear before middle school, the one that made her look so adorable, even when she was yelling at you. When Helga looked so pretty today, with her pink shirt and confused look when she caught you staring. Her lips that seem so… kissable, even when they're scowling. Actually, ESPECIALLY when they're scowling…"

"Arnold! Pookie says we need to get down there for dinner NOW! Something about us having to eat quickly before the Pygmies get here and try to fight us for control over the cheese puff industry..."

The football head quickly snapped out of his daydreaming at the sound of his fellow teen housemate's voice. What had he been saying? Where had it all COME from?

"Uh, c-coming Lucky." He shook his head. No way had he been talking about _Helga_, right?

Meanwhile, the girl outside his door stifled her giggle after hearing _everything_ that her brotherly-friend had been saying.

"Well," she mumbled to herself as she descended the stairs and headed for the dining room, "it appears to be that things are about to get _very _interesting." She smiled and shook her head. "Oh Arnold, if only you weren't so dense…"

Hearing some footsteps behind her, she quickly silenced herself.

"So Shortman, anything interesting happen since we last conversed?" she asked.

"Huh, what? Oh, nothing. Hey, didn't Grandma say we had to eat quickly? We'd better get down there, Helga," he replied nervously and hurried downstairs, trying to avoid the topic until he could come up with an answer that wouldn't make him seem like a complete jerk to Cecile's friend.

"Wait, Helga?"

"Huh?"

"Who's Helga?" his friend demanded.

"What do you mean?" Arnold asked, entirely confused.

"You called me Helga."

"No I didn't. I said, 'We'd better get down there, _Lucky_.'"

"You said Helga!"

"No I didn't!"

Lucky was a little miffed by his complete denial. "Stupid dense football head who doesn't know he's in love with one of my best friends," she mumbled to herself.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing!" she exclaimed.

"I know you, Lucky, you said something."

"Sure I did, _Helga,_" she teased him.

"I DID NOT SAY HELGA!" he cried, exasperated.

"KIMBA, LEPRECHAUN! GET DOWN HERE! THE PYGMIES ARE COMING AND WE NEED TO KEEP OUR STRENGTH UP!" Pookie's voice rang loud and clear through the large house. Lucky smiled and turned to Arnold.

"Race ya down there!" She took off running.

"Hey! No fair!"

With that the two kids were running down the stairs, both pretending that they're previous conversation hadn't happened as they joined their extended family for yet another 'normal' meal.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yeah, the ending of this chapter is a bit weird, but I needed to end it SOMEWHERE and Arnold needed to a chance to be even more dense about Cecile and Helga by comparing the two... He fails at life, but we love him dearly anyways. And of course Lucky now has a date for Friday, so we've got a double and a single. Maybe Lucky and Sid should double with someone else, too... hmmmm... If anyone has any suggestions, let me know! :D**

**Also, reviews=awesomeness! I'd love to know whether you loved it or hated it or anything in between. Let me know how I'm doing/how I can improve, please.**

**I'm also accepting ideas for random shenanigans that anyone thinks should happen. (I know how the story is going to work out, of course, but if you guys are dying for anything specific to happen let me know ;))**

**So until next time:**

**Peace!**

-NerdilyNi**  
><strong>


	8. Lucky Streak

**A/N: Really wanted to get this in since I have marching band ALL DAY tomorrow... Geez I hate it. I was going to drop it this year, but nooooo, my director had to con me into doing it this year too... -_-**

**Anyways, it's taking me awhile to complete chapters, but it's not my fault! Blame Azure129 for writing awesomeness! I've totally been sidetracked with her story, Learning To Be Helga. It's sooooo long but soooooooooooooo worth it.**

**And might I say thank you to all my reviewers! I don't want to seem like I'm biased or anything, but two of my favorite authors on this site have reviewed _my_ story! :D So might I say a big, "THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH!" to SuprSingr and StarvingWriterMaeve. You guys write AMAZING stories, and I'm glad you like mine so far! (Actually, SuprSingr's My Love and My Love? helped inspire this story.)**

**For those of you who don't know, SuprSingr is the the genius behind such works as Advice, Rooftop Confessions, and Hypnotizing Helga. (I stalk some of your stories, too... :P) Meanwhile, StarvingWriterMaeve lays claims to works of art like Hillbook, Hillbook 2: Return of the Drama, and The Blog Project. All of you should check out both authors!  
><strong>

**:D :D :D :D**

**Sorry, had to let the happy out. :P**

**In other news, we have a bunch of awkwardness awaiting us! Namely because I was feeling awkward when I wrote it... Yeah, not my brightest moment...**

**Anywho, read on, fateful viewers! (Sorry, couldn't resist the Rugrats reference...)**

**Disclaimer: Craig Bartlett is a genius who is just plain awesome at everything, and I fail in comparison, and therefore, he shall be accredited with Hey Arnold! because he is so completely awesome...**

**It's late. Don't judge me. :P**

* * *

><p>"Oh, geez, I'm so nervous!" Lucky was pacing around Phoebe's room. After a long week of trying to juggle school, listening to Helga obsess over Arnold, comparing classes with Phoebe, and secretly watching Arnold freaking out over obsessing over Helga and Cecile, it was finally Friday, which meant that three certain girls had some dates to look forward to for that night. Arnold, Gerald, and Sid had coordinated with each other to pick their dates up at the same place so that the girls could get to know one another. Arnold and Gerald would then head out with Cecile and Phoebe, leaving Lucky and Sid to their own devices.<p>

"Criminy! Not you, too!" Helga cried, "It's bad enough that I'm freaking out, and I actually have a reason to! The guy that I've been in love with is actually going out on a date _he _initiated with _me!_ Well, okay, not technically me, but with my alter ego, but still-"

"_I_ don't have a reason to freak out? Puh-lease! At least you know about the guy _you're_ going out with; after all you've stalked him ever since God knows when! Meanwhile, I'm going to be going on a date with someone who I've never really talked to before, never really even _met _before. What if he turns out to be a total jerk? What if he's really nice? I mean, let's face it, the second one would be harder to deal with, my personality considering-"

"Nose boy is just your average run of the mill geek. There, you know everything you need to about him. Congrats. Now can we get back to the REAL problem?"

"Hey!"

"Would you two simply KNOCK IT OFF?" piped up a voice from the corner. The two feuding girls turned to their friend who had, up until now, been quietly observing their fight. "Thank you. This volume is definitely preferable."

"Oh come on Pheebs! It's not _my_ fault that Clover Girl over here is freaking out OVER NOTHING!"

"_I'm_ freaking out over nothing?"

The short Asian girl rolled her eyes. "Not this again. Lucky, Helga, please; tonight is supposed to be a happy night for all three of us. Do you two really want to ruin it with all of this pointless arguing?"

The blonde and the redhead sighed.

"I guess not," Lucky admitted. Helga nodded in agreement.

"You've got a point there. After all, it's not every day that I get to go on a date with _Arnold!_" She let out a deep sigh as a dreamy expression came over her face. Lucky looked to Phoebe in panic. They both knew that it was only a matter of time before their friend lapsed into a full blown monologue. The newest citizen of Hillwood hadn't gotten the chance to hear one yet, but she knew from her sources, a.k.a. her Japanese co-conspirator, that one of those could go on for _hours_.

"Helga, you have got to snap out of it!" Phoebe reminded her. The obsessive girl's eyes flew open in shock with realization at what she had just done.

"Heh, heh, nerves, I guess," Helga explained lamely.

"When _aren't_ you nervous?" Lucky asked. The girls chuckled at this little joke. All three of them knew that Helga was definitely the high-strung one of the group.

"All right, ladies, enough chit-chat. We've got dates to get ready for!" the Pink Thunder announced.

"Readying!" Phoebe quipped. With one last giggle, the three girls set to work preparing themselves for what was shaping up to be an interesting night.

A3HH3A

"So tell me Arnold, how do you know this Cecile girl?" Sid asked. Back at the Sunset Arms, three boys were waiting until it was time to go pick up their dates.

"It's kind of a long story, Sid."

"I'm willing to hear it. I love a good story, you know."

"It's nothing like a legend," Arnold tried to explain.

"Might as well be, though, man!" Gerald butt in, "I mean, think about it. A random girl finds a way to pretend to be your French Pen Pal, gets you on a date, is exposed to be a mystery girl, and then vanishes into the night. Tell me that isn't legendary!"

Arnold blushed. "It was a long time ago, Gerald."

"Wait, so how are you going on a date with her tonight?" Sid was clearly confused by the way that his tall-haired friend had ended the story.

"Oh, it gets better! Some crazy girl moves into the boarding house and then-"

"_I'll_ take the story from here, okay Gerald?"

"Whatever you say, man." Arnold sighed at Gerald's melodramatic way of telling "legends." Sure, it was entertaining sometimes, but not when it involved his date and one of his best friends.

"What happened was that Lucky moved into here and knew Cecile from camp and apparently the two are now going to the same school. End of story."

"I could have told it better…." Gerald muttered.

"Boy howdy, that sure is a whirlwind romance Arnold!" Both Arnold and Gerald turned to their friend as he began to chuckle. The boy with the tall stack of hair couldn't resist, and it wasn't long before the two were laughing hysterically at Arnold's predicament, earning a glare from their football-headed comrade.

"Hah hah, very funny you two," he snarled, a little irritated at how they were acting. After all, he had enough to worry about, seeing as it was his first, of hopefully many, date with Cecile, and he really didn't need his friends making a joke out of the whole situation.

"Oh, relax. You know it's pretty funny," Sid teased.

"Aw, Sid, lay off the man, alright? Besides, I'm not sure how you came up with that crazy idea to ask out that crazy Lucky girl."

"Hey! She's not really crazy, is she, Arnold?" The blonde boy shrugged.

"She kinds of is, I guess. At the very least she's a bit… eccentric."

Sid groaned as Arnold simply smirked at him. "I warned you, didn't I? You shouldn't ask out girls you barely know. I'm a bit curious, though; why DID you ask her?"

"Well, heh heh," the stringy-haired teen wasn't sure how to explain his attraction to the odd girl, "I guess she's pretty cute, and uh, well, there's her red hair and whole random appearance thing… I mean the last person I expected to bring us snacks on guys night would be a girl I've never met before. There's also the whole deal about the four-leaf clover comment and, I don't know, something about her just stuck."

Gerald simply stared at Sid with a questioning look. "And I thought _Arnold's_ situation was nutty…"

"Oh please, Gerald. You've been dating Phoebe for ages, you've got no room to comment on Arnold 's or my love life."

"Guys, I hate to be the voice of reason here," Arnold cut in, "but isn't it time to go pick up our dates?"

The two other boys looked at the clock, they're eyes wide.

"Heh, well boy howdy, what do ya know, it is! Guess we should get going then, huh?"

"You know, it's understandable if you're nervous, Sid. After all, you've only met Lucky at my house once before."

"Nervous? Heh, heh, I'm not nervous…"

"Hey, man, cool it. Like Arnold said, it's normal, or at least more normal than the rest of your situation."

"Gerald." Arnold shot his best friend a warning look and got a shrug in response. He sighed. "Well, we'll never get anywhere by just standing here, right? Come on, let's go."

"R-right."

"Lead the way, my main man."

H3AA3H

The doorbell to the Heyerdahl residence resounded through the halls, much to the surprise to three certain teenage girls. The blonde, brunette, and red head glanced at each other for a moment. The blonde shook her head.

"Well why don't you OPEN it already, Pheebs? I'm DYING here!" Her eyes shifted toward the door in nervous anticipation.

"R-right, 'Cecile,'" the Asian brunette answered as she reached for the knob. The red head bit her lip, hoping that she wouldn't be too odd on her date. As much as she didn't care about what people thought, she _really_ didn't want to scare or confuse anyone.

The door opened to three teenage boys, each wearing a nice button up shirt and slacks. They stared at the girls before them.

Phoebe Heyerdahl, the one who had opened the door, was wearing her usual baby blue in the form of a spaghetti-strap dress with a darker blue sash tied in a neat bow behind her back. Her white strappy heels added about two inches to her height, which she was thankful for. With her boyfriend being so much taller than her, she didn't want to seem out of place at his side. Of course the fact that she would be in a better position to initiate a kiss with him was an added bonus.

Lucky Stevenson, the redheaded one, had a lavender, form-fitting dress on with wide, stretchy white belt snapped around her middle. Her hair was in a loose bun, with little tendrils framing her face, as per usual.

Then there was the mysterious Cecile. Her dress was the same shade of pink as her bow, just like so many years ago. There was a diagonal red band near her waist, as well as a small triangle of red peeking out from where the pink was cut in a diagonal the opposite way at the bottom of the dress. Atop her head was, of course, the pink bow, and her hair was pulled back a bit with a clip, yet there was still that small bit that always covered her eye.

Needless to say, Arnold, Gerald, and Sid's jaws dropped at the sight out their dates, eliciting a collective giggle from the group of girls.

"Would you like to come in?" Phoebe asked. The boys just nodded as they stepped inside, still at a loss for words. Gerald was the first to clear his throat.

"Uh, you look nice, babe," he told his blushing girlfriend. She smiled, which made him feel a bit more confident. "I mean it, you look really nice. Extremely nice. Stunning, really, I guess is what you would call it. I mean, well, looking at you, I'd say-"

Lucky laughed at the exchange. "We get it, Gerald. You like how Phoebe looks, and might I say you have excellent judgment. He's right Phoebe, you look really pretty."

"Speaking of pretty," Sid finally found his voice, "Might I say that boy howdy, you look great!"

"Thanks, Sid," Lucky replied with a smile, "You look really nice, too." Both teens awkwardly blushed.

"Aw, Lucky's got a boyfriend!" Helga teased.

"Oh Cecile, let them have their fun." The blonde girl turned wide-eyed to the boy who had spoken.

"Arnold," she breathed, her voice a faint whisper.

"My, the uniform doesn't do you nearly as much justice. I'm glad to see you haven't lost your love of pink," he told her. Something in the back of his mind was trying to tell him something about the shade of pink, but he ignored it. Gently, he took her hand in his and gave it a small kiss, causing her to blush violently.

The other two girls in the room smiled at this exchange, knowing how much of a dream it was for their friend to finally be the one to _be_ kissed by Arnold, even if it was only on the hand.

"And you said _I_ was the one with the boyfriend," the girl teased playfully, causing both blondes to blush.

"Well, uh, not that all this blushing isn't really fun, heh," Sid cut in with a nervous laugh, "But Lucky and I should really get going."

"And where would that be?" his date wanted to know.

"Oh, uh, I actually made a double date with my best pal, Stinky, if that's alright with you," he explained, then added quickly, "Of course, we don't have to if you don't want to. We could probably catch a good movie or something-"

He was interrupted with a small laugh. "A double date sounds fine, Sid. I'm curious to see who this 'Stinky' character is. Is that his real name?"

Helga scoffed. "Like you're one to talk, _Lucky._" The other girl simply gave her a smug look.

"Right you are, _Cecile._" That comment caused Helga to promptly shut her mouth and Phoebe to giggle. Everyone else just looked really, _really_ confused.

Realizing that there wasn't going to be an explanation offered, Sid continued. "Well, yeah, it's his real name. You actually met him at guy's night that one time," he explained, the confused look still present on his face.

"Oh, cool! Well, we should probably head out, then. By the way, Phoebe," she spoke, turning to her friend and shaking her hand, "It was a pleasure 'meeting' you." She gave her a wink before addressing Gerald, "You really have a great girl there. Better treat her right, you got that? We've traded numbers, so if I ever hear of any mistreatment, I WILL come after you." Her sinister look caused Gerald to laugh.

"Believe me, Lucky, if you knew her best friend, you wouldn't worry about having to kill me. _She'd_ take care of that."

"Good, but my threat still stands," she told him as she turned to her housemate, "Arnold, that goes for you, too." Her face took on a sweet smile.

"Uh, r-right," the football head stammered, the night he met Lucky fresh on his mind.

Sid's eyes had been growing wide as his date had begun her threats. He cleared his throat to interrupt before things got even _more_ awkward.

"Uh, Lucky's right, we should probably head out," he announced and took the redhead's hand.

"Alrightie then. Bye everybody! I'll talk to you later!"

"Have fun!" Phoebe and Helga called after their friend as Gerald and Arnold waved lamely, completely unsure of what had just happened as the odd girl and the stringy-haired boy left.

"Well, Gerald, Arnold, I believe that it is time for us, too, to depart. Right Cecile?"

"Of course!" Helga eagerly responded. The two boys shook their heads to regain their sanity, remembering that they were in the presence of two _very_ beautiful women.

"Oh, uh, okay. Well, um, Gerald and I got a reservation at Chez Paris. I thought it'd be, I dunno, sort of a special place, since it's where we kind of met." Arnold grew redder as he spoke, and the back of his neck must have gotten rug burn from the number he was doing on it. Helga simply giggled.

"That sounds great, Arnold. I'm just glad to be spending some time with you," 'Cecile' admitted.

Arnold smiled, glad that Cecile was okay with his plan. He should have known that she would be, after all, Cecile was so kind and understanding. If it were Helga he were talking to, that would be a different story. Helga was always angry at him for any small thing, and she definitely would have been mad at him for thinking up something so cheesy, especially for their first official date…

The blonde boy's eyes grew wide. Helga and _him_? On a _date? _Where did THAT come from?

Gerald cleared his throat, sensing some tension on Arnold's part. "Well, we should probably get going. Don't want them to give away our table, you know?"

"I must concur with Gerald. Surely the restaurant won't wait for us," Phoebe commented, smiling in support for her boyfriend.

"Exactly. Thanks, babe." Phoebe blushed at the praise and Gerald's pet name for her.

As the four teenagers left the house and made their way to the restaurant, Gerald grabbed Phoebe's hand and smiled at her, causing a giggle to erupt from the small girl. Arnold glanced shyly at Cecile, wondering if he should do the same. Helga caught him staring, smiled, and slipped her fingers into his own hand. Both of them blushed, yet neither pulled away.

Both couples held hands the entire way to the restaurant.

A3HH3A

"Arnold, I have to say that I'm having an amazing time. Much better than our last date," Helga winked.

"Well, I guess the fact that there's no one waiting for me across the street helps," he joked, earning a chuckle from both Gerald and his date.

They had made it through the meal without any trouble. Phoebe made sure to ask 'Cecile' a few personal questions to make sure it looked like they had never previously met. Gerald, however, was usually too caught up in Phoebe's eyes to notice. Helga had rolled her eyes at observing this. _Why doesn't he just excuse the two of them outside and just __**kiss**__ her already?_

"I am curious, Arnold, as to how you managed to pull that off," Phoebe expressed her curiosity.

"Well obviously Arnold couldn't have pulled it off without his trusty sidekick," Gerald told her, pointing a finger at himself, "After all, everything would have fallen through without my help."

"Uh Gerald," Arnold interrupted, "Everything _did_ fall through, remember? You know, Ruth leaving with that bus boy, this Cecile getting angry at me for, uh, _double dating_, the other Cecile showing up… By the way, Gerald, how did your distraction go?"

Gerald blushed in embarrassment. _Of course Arnold would bring this up in front of PHOEBE of all people…_ "I, uh… what I mean is that…. um…"

"Oh, Arnold. Gerald was just helping you out. Do we really need to go into detail about it?" The football head turned back to Cecile as she spoke. Her voice had a flirtatious tone to it and she was batting her eyes, which caused Arnold to gulp. She really was beautiful.

_I absolutely love her eyes. And the way she says my name: Arnold. Not Arnoldo. Not paste-for-brains. Not geekbait. Not even Football Head. Just Arnold._ He sighed dreamily. _Not that I really mind it when Helga calls me those things. It's just that it's nice to hear someone nice and pretty calling me by __my real name. _His eyes widened again in shock at his thoughts. _Wait, what's __**that**__ supposed to mean? Do I think Helga's pretty and nice? I mean, I know she's a good person and all and she's helped me out with a lot but… UGH! Why am I even __**thinking**__ of Helga! This makes no sense. Why on earth would I be comparing Cecile to __**Helga Pataki?**_

"Is something wrong, Arnold?" his date asked, her voice and face contorted with worry.

"I'm, uh, just fine, Cecile. Just, uh, forgot where I was for a moment, heh heh…"

Helga frowned. Forgot where he was? Was he _that_ bored with talking to Cecile? She rolled her eyes mentally. _Typical Football Head; too bored to talk to Cecile, too sensitive and kind-hearted to talk to Helga. Criminy, what __**is**__ his problem with me? It's bad enough that he doesn't notice me at school as anything other than tomboyish and mean, but we are on a DATE for crying out loud, and a very nice one at that! Would it kill him to pay attention?_

Meanwhile, across town there was a different exchange taking place between a certain superstitious boy and a girl with incredible luck.

It had been getting late, and the couple had decided to head back to the Sunset Arms to drop Lucky off after their double date with Stinky and Lila. They had had a great time. Sure, Lucky's antics were a bit odd, but they made for great stories, and Lila definitely had some sane farm stories left to even out the evening. The two girls seemed to really hit it off, and Sid was grateful for that. He may date a lot, but never really double dates, and certainly not with girls that had the same hair color. He had been worried that it would somehow be a faux pas in "girl world" to show up with the same color hair. He knew it was stupid, but it was odd seeing two redheads get together. It was like the world was going to explode or something.

All in all, however, Sid realized that he really like Lucky. She was smart and fun, and had a really offbeat way of thinking. Sure, it was a little awkward at times, but he realized that Lucky was just an awkward person, but instead of that awkwardness making her weird, it actually made her seem really cute. She really was unlike anyone Sid had ever met before, and he liked that. He loved her offbeat personality.

Lucky was feeling the same way about Sid. True, he was a little grungy and skittish, yet there was a sense of blind faith that he possessed that she couldn't help but find endearing.

So there they were, standing on the stoop of the Sunset Arms, the cold night air dancing around them.

"I had a really great time tonight, Lucky," Sid said softly.

"Me, too, Sid," Lucky spoke in a matching tone, "I really enjoyed getting to know you." A smile lit up her face.

"Yeah. You're a really interesting girl, you know that?"

"Thanks." She blushed, making her look all the more adorable. Sid took a breath and asked the question he was dying to ask.

"so, um, do you think that maybe, uh… that maybe it would be okay if I, uh… you know, if I…" he stuttered before whispering his request, "_if I kissed you?"_

Lucky blushed, but frowned a little.

"Look, Sid, I really like you, but I'm not really the kind of girl who kisses on the first date," she explained, "and I'm not sure how my parents would feel about me kissing a boy that they don't even know about…"

"Oh, sorry then…"

"No, it's not that I don't like you Sid! I really do like you. I like you a lot."

"But you don't like me like me, do you?"

The girl stared at him blankly for a second before laughing. Sid looked at her angrily.

"No, no, it's not you, Sid. You just sounded like Arnold for a second. Gosh, that kid is dense," she explained before regaining her serious tone, "But for the record Sid, I do like you. _Like_ you like you."

Sid looked at her skeptically. "This is one of those 'spare my feelings' moments, isn't it?"

"No, Sid! I'm just not ready to kiss you yet, okay?"

"Look, Lucky, it's okay if you don't like me. I can handle it."

"Ugh! Sid! What is it going to take to get you to believe me?" Sid responded with a shrug.

Lucky sighed. It really was starting to seem that Sid was Arnold with the denseness of it all. _Geez, the guy can pay enough attention to detail to find a four-leaf clover, but not to realize that I really, __**really**__ like him…_ Her face lit up with realization. _Of course, the clovers!_

"Hang on a second. Don't go anywhere," she told her date as she dashed inside.

H3AA3H

"I certainly enjoyed dinner, Gerald. Thank you for paying for my meal," an obviously delighted Phoebe thanked her boyfriend.

"I'm just glad you liked it." Her boyfriend smiled at her lovingly.

"Hey guys, not to break up the 'love-fest' or anything," Arnold joked, "but I'm going to take Cecile home now, okay?"

Helga's eyes grew wide. She hadn't prepared herself for this. Of course she knew that Arnold was the perfect gentleman and would definitely walk her home, but in all of her 'training' to be Cecile, she had never remembered to figure out where she was living!

"Um, actually, Arnold, Cecile is spending the night at my house," Phoebe explained, much to Helga's relief. _Thank goodness __**someone **__has their head on straight. Good thinking, Pheebs._

"Oh, really?" To say that Arnold was a little disappointed would be underestimating him. He had actually planned on giving Cecile a goodnight kiss, if she would let him. He'd never get the guts to do that in front of Gerald and Phoebe, even if the two of them felt comfortable doing it in front of him, which wouldn't be the first time, or the second, or the third, or the twenty-ninth…

"Uh, of course!" Helga giggled a little, "After all, your plan to get us to become friends worked, Arnold. We decided to make this thing an overnight before you boys arrived, heh heh… Lucky was invited too, but she, um… declined! Yeah, she declined, that's it, because…. Um…. Because…"

"Because she was uncertain of when she would get back, and didn't want to be left in the dark if it was early, or disturbing us if it was late," Phoebe interrupted, saving Helga from further embarrassment and struggle.

"Oh, that's too bad…"

They walked in awkward silence until they reached the Heyerdahl home once again.

"Babe, I had a really great time tonight," Gerald told Phoebe, turning her to face him and looking her in the eye. Phoebe gulped. Her heels really did make it so that their lips were closer than they normally would have been in this position.

"I enjoyed our evening together as well," she let him know, her voice somewhat tense. True, it wouldn't be the first time Gerald would kiss her in public, but she was always a bit nervous whenever he did. It gave her a rush of excitement.

"You know what would make this night perfect, though?" he whispered. The little Asian girl nodded slightly, making him to smile flirtatiously. "Good." With that, he pressed his lips to hers in a deep, yet still sweet and gentle, goodnight kiss.

Arnold and Helga were wrapped up in their own little goodnight moment.

"Well, I guess this is it," Helga stated.

"I guess so," Arnold replied, his voice holding a hint of disappointment. An awkward silence fell between the two.

"You know, Arnold," the blonde teenage girl told him, "it would be perfectly understandable if you just, I don't know, _kissed me_ or something." She waved her hand dismissively, as if it were no big deal. Inwardly, however, her heart was pounding. _Oh please kiss me, my love!_

"Um, Cecile, I don't know," he began, rubbing the back of his neck, "I mean, Gerald and Phoebe are over there and it would be kind of awkward, you know? I'd much rather do something like this in private."

Helga's face fell. She had really been hoping, even though it was a stretch, to having Arnold initiating a _real_ kiss with her tonight.

"I, uh, I guess… I understand…" she told him dejectedly. He looked at her sadly, then took her hand.

"But you know, I _am_ free next Saturday, if you would be willing to go out with me again," he explained while placing a small kiss on Cecile's hand. Inwardly, Helga swooned.

"O-of course, Arnold."

"Great." He smiled at her and released her hand. "Until then…"

"Au revoir, Arnold," she giggled breathlessly as he turned away and joined Gerald, who had finished bidding Phoebe a good night.

"Mmm, mmm, mmm. Boy, that is one tough break, man," Gerald told him after they had made it a few blocks away from Phoebe's house.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Arnold insisted while blushing.

"Oh, _sure._ Like I'm going to believe THAT! You wanted to kiss her something bad, didn't you, Romeo?"

"Gerald!"

"Eh, no need to hide it, my main man. You like the girl, you should go for it."

"Gerald, could we not talk about this now?"

"Sure thing man."

"Thanks. Hey, do you want to crash at my house tonight? You know, since it _is _getting pretty late."

"Sure, why not. Thanks, Arnold."

The two boys made their way to the Sunset Arms and were surprised to find Sid there. Gerald and Arnold first looked at each other, then at Sid.

"Sid, what are you doing here?" Arnold asked. Sid shrugged.

"I was told not to move," he informed his friends, not wanted to go into detail about his rejected kiss.

"Let me guess, Lucky, huh?" Gerald wanted to know. The boy with the backwards cap smiled sheepishly.

"Maybe…"

"Mmm, mmm, mmm. Well, good luck with that, man. I feel for you."

"Eh, it's no problem. Besides, she's only been inside a minute or two. She couldn't have forgotten me yet, could she?"

Arnold gave his friend a worried glance as he opened the door to the boarding house, almost colliding with a speeding Lucky in the process.

"Oh, hi Arnold! I was just getting one of my clover collections to give Sid here, you know, to remember me by," she explained, much to Sid's shock.

"Wait, what?"

"One of my clover collections, silly! Here." She extended out the tin in her grasp. The boy took it, elated that she wanted to share something like this with _him_. "I just figure that it would, you know, bring you luck or something."

"Boy howdy, I sure do feel _lucky," _he said with a wink. She smiled and he cleared his throat again. "You know, Lucky, this might seem weird and random, but I really would like to get to know you better like this. More than what I'd want to with any other person, if that makes sense." The redhead giggled.

"It certainly does make sense, Sid," she admitted, "And I must say that I feel the same way."

"Good! So, um, while we both feel the same way and everything, and we'd rather get to know each other better than anyone else… what I mean to say is that, well, this might seem a bit sudden and I'd completely understand if you said no, but-"

"Sid, just ask me already!" she prompted. Sid sighed.

"Alright, then. Lucky Stevenson, would you be my girlfriend?"

Gerald and Arnold's jaws dropped. Lucky? Sid? Boyfriend and girlfriend? _Must've been some date,_ Gerald thought, _still, I had a feeling that they would hit it off…_

"Your _girlfriend?_" Lucky exclaimed, "Me? HECK YEAH!" She giggled furiously before realizing what she had said. "I mean, I think that that is a nice proposition, and I believe that I should take you up on it." The poor girl's face could match her hair.

Sid laughed. "You're so weird," he told her.

"I prefer the term 'eccentric,' thank you very much."

"Alright then, eccentric," he corrected himself as he gave her had a small kiss, "I'll call you later, okay?"

"That's just fine with me, _boyfriend_."

Sid blushed. It really did seem a bit odd, after all this was the first time they had ever really talked to one another. Still, he felt a bit more complete around her. _Aw, who cares if we're going too fast,_ he told himself, _I like her, and I'm going to go for it. A relationship with Lucky actually sounds like one of the best things in this world right now…_

"Uh, ahem," Arnold cleared his throat, "I'm afraid that it is getting late, so Gerald and I are going to head in. You coming Lucky?"

"Of course. Goodnight, Sid." She gave a little curtsy and followed the two boys inside.

"Goodnight, _girlfriend_," he whispered into the cool night air as he turned toward his own house. He smiled as he realized what that title would entail. Nothing was ever boring with Lucky around.

Meanwhile, Arnold's mind was in turmoil once again. No matter how hard he tried, he still had Helga G. Pataki on the brain.

_Why does she still torment me? Even when she's nowhere near me, she has to make my life miserable! Her and her annoying pranks, her barbed comments, her insensitive manners. The way she completely hides that side of __her that shows people she cares,__ shows __**me**__ tha__t she cares; t__hat side that makes every little harsh comments of her worth it__; that side that makes me lo-_

He shook his head violently, not allowing himself to finish that thought. It would be too much to think about, especially since he was going on dates with Cecile, kind, safe, gentle Cecile. The Cecile he had almost kissed. It was that girl that Arnold truly like liked.

It was laughable. After all, when he thought about it that way, he almost had to scoff at the notion.

Imagine, him thinking that he was in love with Helga Pataki.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry if that Lucky/Sid thing was a bit... odd... but then again they are odd characters so I feel justified. And Arnold's in denial... still. And he's still COMPLETELY DENSE, darn him! **

**Forgive me if I wasn't clear about this before, but AXH FOREVER! :D**

**I mean, DUH they're meant to be!**

**Anywho, tell me if you liked it or hated it, please. I promise I won't get hurt or mad if you hated it, as long as you tell me why! I can only get better from constructive criticism.**

**Let me know if you have any suggestions to the story as well... you never know what shenanigans you may help inspire! :D**

**Anyways, I'm going to go read some more Learning to Be Helga** before bed. Goodnight, world!****

-NerdilyNi


	9. A Lucky Aftermath

**A/N: I promise I'm not dead! I just wasn't able to update until now because of a full weekend... stupid marching band.**

**I apologize to those of you who actually enjoy marching band, but I'm a flutist, and I was going to quit this year because I didn't have enough time. My directors, however, CONNED ME INTO IT!**

**They said, "Well the other kids manage to make the time commitment, and they're taking similar classes." So basically I was lazy and stupid if I didn't take it. So I did. And I still hate the fact that it takes over my life.**

**Basically, on Friday night we had a football game we had to march at. Then I had to wake up early on Saturday and go on a 4 hour bus ride to a marching band competition, then I spent 5 hours in my dad's truck when he went and picked me and my sister's boyfriend (also in marching band) up early from the competition so that we might have some hope of making it back in time for our Homecoming dance that night. The school board just HAD to change the date of the dance...**

**Sorry for the long irrelevant rant. I'm just ticked off that I was conned into another year of this... -_-**

**Anywho, this chapter is a little short, but that's just because the next chapter is going to be a long one! Or at least I hope it is...**

**Onwards and upwards!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own, so please don't sue.**

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><p>"So, Shortman, how was your date with the ever so lovable Cecile?" Lucky asked. She, Arnold, and Gerald had all wandered into the kitchen for some after-date ice cream.<p>

"Sounds like someone's been hanging out around Lila," Gerald joked.

Lucky gave him a sheepish smile. "Sorry, I just kind of picked it up," she explained lamely. Arnold had to laugh at the two of him. His fourth grade crush on Lila was just that, a fourth grade crush. She was still a somewhat friend of his, but as far as who she dated he really couldn't care less.

"Just don't make a habit and we should be fine, okay 'Leprechaun?'"

"Sure thing, 'Kimba.'"

Gerald laughed at their banter. "You two really could be siblings, you know that?"

"Yeah right," their girl companion scoffed, "No offense, Arnold, but I have too many siblings back home as it is." The three of them shared a laugh at that. "But seriously, Arnold, how did it go? Was it 'everything you'd hoped it would be?'" she asked, the last few words melodramatically dreamy.

"Very funny, Lucky. For the record, we did have a pretty good time."

"A good time, eh?" The three teens turned around towards the source of the voice.

"Oh, hi Grandpa."

"Hello, Shortman. Now what's this I hear about having a good time? Did this have anything to do with some certain dates three teenagers I know had?"

"Grandpa!" Arnold protested while Lucky giggled.

"You've got it, Phil! Arnold over here was just about to tell us about the _fabulous_ date he had with my friend Cecile."

"Well, it seems as if I made it in the nick of time then." The old man winked at her and the two snickered.

"Hey!" At this point Arnold was about as red as a cherry tomato, and it was clear that this was the goal of his grandfather and his housemate.

"Yeah, cut it out you two," Gerald interjected. Arnold smiled weakly with hope at his best friend's defense. "You both know that Arnold is way to chicken to kiss a girl on the first date anyway!"

_So much for Gerald's help_, the poor football head thought as his three companions laughed at his expense.

"Darn you, Arnold!" Lucky scolded him in between her giggles, "You could have made Cecile's entire _life,_ but instead you just _have_ to be a perfect gentleman, huh?"

"Lucky!"

"Ah, Arnold, I'm just messing with you. Still, Cecile _definitely_ wouldn't mind if you just decided to up and plant one on her," she informed him with a wink.

"Yeah, man. She was practically begging you to kiss her tonight!"

"Just lay off guys, alright? It just didn't feel right to do that tonight."

"Mmm, mmm, mmm. Arnold, I just don't get it. I mean, you like this girl, don't you?"

"Of course I do! It's just that, I… I think I'll know when the right time to kiss her is."

"Ah, so young Shortman here is a romantic, eh?" Phil interjected with a wink.

"Or he has some other girl on the brain," Lucky added with a smirk.

Arnold paled at that accusation. Lucky couldn't possibly _know_, could she? Of course she couldn't. After all, she had never even met Helga, and the two would probably hate each other if they did meet. So why was he worried? He didn't even think of Helga in _that way_, either, so really there was no reason to panic. Lucky was just joking… right?

"Aw, look, he's blushing!" she pointed out with a small laugh, "Okay, you can relax now, Shortman. I didn't mean to give you a heart attack."

"I, uh- what I mean is I-"

"Man oh man, Arnold! I can't believe this! You actually have two girls you're crushing on, don't you, Arnold?" Gerald questioned suspiciously. The football head couldn't help but to rub the back of his neck sheepishly.

He couldn't say that he didn't like Cecile, because he really did. Cecile was kind, smart, and funny and, well, he liked her. A lot. He loved being around her and the way that she seemed to light up the room. If Gerald had asked if he had a crush on Cecile, the response would have been an instantaneous "yes." There was just something a bit off with her, however, like she was hiding something from him.

Then there was this whole "can't stop thinking about Helga" situation. Like Cecile, Helga was clearly trying to hide something, but he knew it was just the fact that she was actually a good person. Maybe she wasn't truly a 100%, nice all the time, sweet as pie kind of girl, but she had her moments where she was kind and thoughtful and just a tad sweet, and her rough personality really seemed a bit more playful at times rather than mean. Helga was just one big enigma to him. At times Arnold could swear that she would give him a look that might hold a bit of affection in it, but it was always gone within the blink of an eye. It was as if Helga was trying to torment him by playing mind games. If so, she was definitely accomplishing her goal.

The real question was, _did_ he have a crush on Helga G. Pataki?

Arnold was afraid of the answer. Trembling, he opened his mouth to speak.

"I-"

"I think it's high time we leave Arnold here alone, right? I mean, geez, enough interrogation. So what if he's a bit shy on the first date?" Lucky interrupted and noted Arnold's sigh of relief with a mischievous look in her eye. She would definitely have to talk to him about this later.

"Exactly!" Arnold exclaimed, "Thanks Lucky. I mean, not kissing on the first date isn't a bad thing. I mean, Lucky didn't kiss Sid tonight." The redhead blushed at the words.

"Well, yeah man, but come on. She didn't really know Sid and Sid didn't really know her. They were just testing things out tonight. You, however, already knew AND liked Cecile. So what was the hold up?"

"Gerald, you forget that Sid and Lucky are now _boyfriend and girlfriend,_ and they still didn't kiss!"

"Alright, you youngsters," Phil cut in, determined to put this argument to rest, "let's just all agree that Arnold's a chicken when it comes to dating, Lucky is old fashioned and a bit of an eccentric weirdo, and Gerald is probably going to marry that one little Asian girl he sometimes bring around here." His gut made a grumbling sound. "Ooo, I've got to go. If you need me, I'll be in my office. Just remember, never eat raspberries!"

Lucky giggled as the old man exited and turned toward her football headed friend. "Well, you have to admit, he does have a point," she admitted with a smile.

"What, that I'm chicken?"

"No, that I'm an eccentric weirdo. " She stuck out her tongue good-naturedly.

"Alright, you two. No more sibling rivalries tonight, okay?" Gerald warned them. Lucky gave him a salute.

"Sir, yes, sir!"

"Yeah, yeah, okay Stevenson. You do that. Me and Arnold are just going to head up to his room to get some sleep now. It's been a long night and besides, don't you have some girly thing to door something?"

"Fine, Gerald. You win, I'll let you have your best friend back if it means _that_ much to you," she consented, giving the tall boy a pat on the back, "And hey, you're right. I _do_ have some girly thing to do." She paused for a minute as if pondering something. "By the way, is there anything you'd like me to tell Phoebe when I call her and we talk about you, Arnold, and Sid behind your backs?" Her smirk returned as confusion set in on the African American boy's face. She made a swift exit and bounded up the stairs to her room.

"Wha- oh. Oh! HEY!" Gerald called and ran after the odd girl as he finally figured out what she was trying to say.

Arnold watched the two and quietly smiled and shook his head. He and his friends might be seniors in high school, but they would probably continue to act like seven year olds for the rest of their lives. He smiled as he took off after his best friends.

H3AA3H

Saturday morning had gone by quickly, and for that Lucky was relieved. She understood that Gerald and Arnold needed to have their "guy time" or whatever, but she couldn't forget about that awkward kitchen conversation that had taken place last night. It was clear that Arnold had been thinking about something, or rather _someone_. The poor girl was desperate to get to the bottom of this. It was all she could do to not jump for joy when Gerald finally left.

"So, F-Shortman," she began as she leaned against the doorway to his room, mentally cursing herself for almost using Helga's nickname for the boy yet _again_. It was actually really hard not to slip up with that name, but she knew that calling her friend as such could ruin _everything._ "What's on your mind?"

"Huh?" Arnold asked, turning toward the girl near his door, "Oh, nothing really. Just thinking about starting my homework so I won't have to worry about it tomorrow, you know?"

"Oh really?" Lucky prodded, that mischievous glint that Arnold had come to know so well apparent in her eyes, "I was thinking it had something to do with a _girl._"

"A g-girl?"

The redhead nodded casually and looked at her nails, trying to be nonchalant, although the look on her face was still a dead giveaway.

"Yeah, you know, _a girl._ Or perhaps maybe _two_ girls?"

"I, uh, don't know what, um, e-exactly you're t-talking about… heh heh…" Was it just him, or did it get really hot all of a sudden?

She rolled her eyes at his response, arms crossed over her chest. "Oh, out with it, Arnold! Who's the other girl?"

"O-other girl?" Arnold requested confirmation, his tone defeated. Lucky was never going to let something like this go until she got some answers, of that the green-eyed boy was sure.

"Don't insult my intelligence, okay Shortman? I know you're distracted, and something did seem a bit off about you not kissing Cecile last night. So what gives? Who's the other girl?"

"Well, I, um-"

"Arnold! Just tell me the girl's name!"

"Lucky, it's really not that big of a deal-" he tried to explain before getting cut off.

"It is _too_ a big deal! I mean come on! You've totally got another chick on the brain. So who is it? Keep in mind that I probably don't know her and that I'm DYING here!"

"Could you, um, promise not to tell Gerald, Phoebe, Sid, or Cecile? I mean, I like Cecile, but I also think that I might like this other girl-"

"HAH! I knew it!"

"Lucky, could you please let me finish?"

"Sorry. But I _was_ right."

"Just promise not to tell them, okay?"

"Fine, I'll promise," the fiery girl relented.

"Good. Now as I was saying, I think I might like this other girl. She's smart, witty, and I think she's kind of pretty in her own sense, but there's one problem: she's a bully. Or at least she tries really hard to be. Everyone thinks that she's mean, but I'm not so convinced. I don't know what it is about her that seems off, but I don't really see her as a horrible person. Yet Cecile is this super sweet girl all of the time, and I love that. She's funny and sophisticated and interesting. I feel as if I know her from somewhere, yet she's a complete mystery."

"What about Helga?"

"Well I guess Helga's a mystery in a different sense. It's more like Cecile's past is a mystery, yet Helga's personality is a mystery. She's always got me guessing because one minute she'll have the world's worst scowl on her face, and the next she'll look at me with this weird look in her blue eyes that makes me feel all, I dunno, tingly inside… those beautiful, striking, fierce blue eyes…" Arnold sighed wistfully, a dreamy look overtaking his features.

Lucky snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Yoohoo, Shortman! Please rejoin those of us here in the REAL world."

"Oh, sorry. I'm starting to think that Helga has this weird effect on me or something… Wait a second, how'd you know her name?" The football head glanced at her curiously, and Lucky was afraid that he had seen through the entire scheme. If so, then all of her, Helga, and Phoebe's hard work would be for nothing.

"I, uh, well, I," she racked her brain for anything that would sound plausible. Her eyes flashed upon remembering the incidence the other day when Arnold screwed up her name. _That will do n__icely,_ she thought with a smirk. "Isn't it _obvious?_ I mean, you called me Helga the other day, so I'm pretty sure someone named 'Helga' is on your mind."

"Oh, right…" The teen boy blushed with her reminder. She smiled, glad to have gotten such a reaction out of him. She swore that sometimes it was fun just to mess with the poor kid.

"Anywho, Shortman, I just wanted to see what the deal was and don't worry, I won't tell Cecile," she paused and stared off into space for a moment as if trying to contemplate something. The girl took a deep breath before continuing with a serious tone, "Just, don't lead her on, okay? She's got feelings, too and she _really_ likes you. But if you truly like this Helga girl, well, I know that Cecile will understand and she'll be ecstatic that you're happy. That's all she really wants, and she thinks that maybe _she_ can make you happy, you know? But don't go out with Cecile just because you don't think Helga likes you. Just go for it. And heck, if everything winds up blowing up in your face," here her voice once again turned playful, "you've gotta know that I'm still here, alright? You're kind of stuck with me at this point."

Arnold smiled. "Thanks Lucky, but I really don't know how I'm feeling at this point. I don't even know if I like Helga-"

His friend held up her hand to stop him. "At this point I believe that it is safe to assume that you've got a little crush on Helga."

He groaned. "That's what I was afraid of."

The girl across the room laughed. "Oh, cheer up, would ya? It's not like it's a _bad_ thing."

Arnold sighed. He knew it wasn't a bad thing, but it just made everything else so much more complicated. Lucky saw the distressed look on his face and walked over to him, reached up, and ruffled his hair, trying to comfort him.

"Relax, Shortman," she told him, "Everything will work itself out, okay?"

As she left the room, Arnold flopped face first onto his bed and let out a moan. Everything would turn out alright?

He sure hoped so.

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><p><strong>AN: And yes, I had to leave poor Arnold in a hard spot again. Sorry, but I guess this is what happens when you're dense...**

**Bottom line: If someone disguises themselves to get one date with you, you'd better recognize who they are and possibly reciprocate their feelings, otherwise it'll come back to get ya...**

**As always, review!**

-NerdilyNi


	10. Dumb Luck

**Hey everybody! Did you miss me?**

**First things first, I'm REALLY sorry for the delay! These past couple of weeks have been heck for me. I had to apply to eight colleges last week in order to be part of this college match program, but if I get into one of the colleges it's gonna be AWESOME! We're talking like full-ride awesome... :D Still, as it was I was going to bed at 3 AM every night, and I still have school to attend, so writing was really out of the question, sadly... :(  
><strong>

**BUT!... Did you guys know that this month is NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month? If you write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November, will give you a free proof copy of your novel. Seriously, you should check it out. Last year I did it and WON, so this year I decided to do two novels! On top of keeping up with this, it'll definitely be a month of literary abandon... Plus it keeps me busy until I get news of where I was accepted (if anywhere) on December 1st. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!**

**So, I'm afraid that the writing in this chapter stinks... and I apologize. :( There was somewhere I wanted to go with this story and I guess I got a little ahead of myself. My apologies... v_v**

**But a HUGE thanks goes out to Usha for pointing out that I had kind of jumped the gun on the whole Arnold liking Helga thing (I tend to do things like that in stories, so thanks for keeping me at the right pace!) and I hope that the explanation somewhat provided here will help to correct that.**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter of Lucky Shot! :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hey Arnold!, although if someone wanted to give it to me I wouldn't object... :P**

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><p>Sid spent a little extra time getting ready for school in the morning. He knew that he probably wouldn't see Lucky until after school or something, but he still felt like it was necessary to look better than he usually did. After all, he had a <em>girlfriend<em> now, so he had to up the standards at least a little bit.

He exited his house and began walking towards his school when a thought came to mind. Why walk the normal, boring way to school when going by Arnold's house would take just a few extra minutes? The boy with the backwards cap smiled. Maybe he'd even get to see his girl _before_ school. With that thought in mind, he quickly changed directions.

The boy with the oblong head was on the stoop as Sid approached Arnold's house and gave a small wave to his friend.

"Oh, hey Sid," the other boy greeted him, "Lucky's just finishing up breakfast. You can go on in if you want."

"Oh, uh, thanks." Sid blushed. Were his motives really that apparent?

Yet when he saw Lucky facing away from him as she sat at the dining room table, he suddenly didn't care if anyone knew that he had come here just to see her. _She looks wicked awesome in her school uniform,_ he thought, and he was glad that she hadn't seen him yet. Silently he crept up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, grinning as he felt her muscles tighten.

"Good morning," he whispered into her ear, causing her to jump in her seat and whirl around. He couldn't help but notice how cute she looked with her eyes wide like that.

"Sid!" she cried, her wide eyes narrowing as she put on a scowl, "You scared the carbon dioxide out of me!" When she saw her boyfriend's extremely confused look, however, her scowl transformed into a satisfied smile and tried to explain, "Carbon dioxide is what we breathe out. We inhale oxygen, amongst other things otherwise we would explode or catch fire or something, and exhale mostly carbon dioxide. In layman's terms, you scared me breathless."

"Oh." Sid rubbed the back of his neck, wondering how long it would take him to get used to how Lucky talked. It was definitely interesting, and he liked that she was never boring, but he still couldn't understand most of what she said half the time. "I, um, I kind of wanted to surprise you. I was going to call you and see if you wanted to hang out tonight, but I kind of wanted to see you before then."

"Aw, you're sweet." His girlfriend smiled along with her compliment. "Come on, I don't want to make you late." She hooked her arm with his and led him out the door.

A goofy smiled appeared on his face. Boy howdy, she was touching him!

"It'd be worth it," he sighed as the two of them began walking in the direction of Hillwood High.

H3AA3H

"So, I trust that everyone had a fabulous weekend, right?" a perky voice permeated the air in the courtyard of Hillwood High School.

"Yeah, yeah, Princess, a real winner," Helga scoffed, her bullying persona in full effect, "If that's what you'd call Big Bob forcing you to fill in at the Beeper Emporium. I mean, yeesh, how much of a blowhard can he be?"

"Helga, I'm sure it's not so bad," Arnold tried to reason with her.

"Whatever, Arnoldo. I'm sure you had a weekend that was just peachy. Didn't you have a date with some fictional character or something?" She scowled darkly at him.

"Cecile's not fictional, Helga," he replied in an annoyed tone. Sure, he might have a crush on Helga, but that didn't make her seem any less impossible.

"Yeah, Pataki. Just ask Phoebe. We doubled," Gerald cut in.

"Yeah, yeah. Phoebe told me all about your 'delightful social interactions.' I have to say, Geraldo, I still don't know why someone as smart as Pheebs is even giving you the time of day."

"Helga," Phoebe warned.

"Seems like I missed out on a lot this weekend," Rhonda noted with a slightly evil glint in her eye. She couldn't wait to get to the bottom of _this._ Arnold had a date? It seemed just about as likely as Sid finally asking, or getting, a girl to go steady with him. After all, while Arnold was a cute guy and all, he was rather picky when it came to dates.

"Well I reckon my weekend was a lot quieter, on accounta I just had a date with my Lila on Friday, and then went fishing with my old man for the rest of it," Stinky interjected with an account of his own weekend.

"Oh, Stinky," Lila told him, "I'm ever so certain that our date was just ever so wonderful, and it was only made better by the company of our dear friend Sid and his oh so lovely date."

"Wait, you two doubled with _Sid?"_ Rhonda asked, "I thought that little creep didn't _do_ double dates. Usually it's one and done for him, and he never goes out with the same girl twice. Or the same girl won't go out with _him._" She was a firm believer that the latter was true in most cases. Rhonda was well aware of Sid's reputation as something of a ladies' man, but the concept of girls _wanting _to go out with him was still too much for her to fully comprehend.

"Why of course. How could I have forgotten? Thank you for reminding me, my sweet darlin'."

"I'm ever so certain that the pleasure was all mine." Lila smiled sweetly at her boyfriend.

"Mmm, mmm, mmm." Gerald shook his head at their innocent little romance. It was sugary-sweet with just a dash of completely revolting. "Oh, by the way, Stinky, where _is_ Sid? I've been meaning to congratulate him."

"Um, excuse me? Congratulate him for _what?" _Rhonda wanted to know.

"Oh that's right! Sid went and got himself a _girlfriend!_" Stinky replied, nearly doubling over with laughter.

"Now Stinky, I'm oh too certain that it was bound to happen, and he looked just ever so happy with Lucky last Friday-"

"A GIRLFRIEND?" Rhonda and Helga shouted in unison. The rest of the group turned and stared at the two.

_Lucky! __ How could she not TELL me? _thought Helga, _Although, come to think of it, she hasn't talked to me at all since last Friday. Where has __**she**__ been?_

"Hey everybody! What's going on?" The gazes that had been on Helga and Rhonda turned toward the source of that statement. Sid had just rounded the corner to the school alone. He and Lucky had separated a couple of intersections ago so that they could both make it to their classes on time, no matter how much Sid had protested and tried to walk her to her school.

"Sidney!" a clearly ticked of Rhonda Wellington Lloyd addressed him, "What is this talk of you have a _girlfriend?_"

"Boy howdy Rhonda, what's your problem?"

"My _problem_ is the fact that you managed to ask a living, breathing girl to be your girlfriend and she actually _accepted!_ Who is she?" Rhonda demanded.

"Her name is Lucky Stevenson," Arnold informed her, "She lives in the boarding house."

"There's a teenage girl LIVING in the boarding house? Why am I only now hearing of this?" Rhonda looked around at the other teens who simply shrugged.

"No need to get your panties in a twist, Princess," Helga remarked, "I only heard of it about a week ago."

"Helga heard… of this… before… _me?_" Rhonda's eyes fluttered and she lost her consciousness only to be caught by Curly, who had seemingly appeared from nowhere.

"Ah, my lovely Rhonda is unconscious in my arms." He glanced at her lovingly before turning to the rest of the group. "What did you guys _do _to her?"

A3HH3A

"So Sid, you finally got up enough guts to ask a girl to go steady, huh?" Arnold heard Helga ask the paranoid boy.

"Oh, Helga. I think it's great that he finally has a girlfriend. What's she like, Sid?" Eugene cut in.

Arnold managed to tune out the rest of the conversation as he turned to look at Helga. How was it that she managed to make a worn out beanie attractive? How did she make her pigtails so womanly? She was a living paradox, and he wanted nothing more than to figure her out.

He sighed, hoping against hope that Lucky was right and everything would turn out fine. He really hated feeling guilty, but that's exactly how his feelings for Helga made him feel. Now that he was certain that he had a crush on her, it made everything ten times worse.

Arnold was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice Helga looking straight at him. "What're you looking at, Football Head?" she challenged. Inwardly, however, the blonde girl was ecstatic.

_He's looking at me! Arnold Shortman is really looking at me! _she mentally squealed, _But wait? __**Why**__ is he looking at me? Do I look weird? Or does he… does he RECOGNIZE me? Criminy! Please don't tell me he grew a brain after all these years and can finally see through my carefully thought out ploys. What if he finally realized that __I'M Cecile? It'll crush him! He'll either think that it's some elaborate prank and hate me, or he'll think that I'm the world's biggest nut job. Why did I agree to do this?_

Much to her relief, however, Arnold simply blushed.

"Sorry Helga."

"Criminy, can't someone get ready for a morning of math without getting stared down? Yeesh!"

"Relax, Helga. Arnold probably wasn't even looking at you, anyway," Eugene intervened.

"I don't know, Eugene. Arnold _was_ getting a little creepy over there, don't you think?" Sid teased and elbowed the jinx.

"Oh, lay off ya bunch of pansies. Class is about to start," Helga pointed out. In reality, she just wanted to get them off of the not-so-unwanted attention she was getting from Arnold. While she wouldn't mind him staring at her a bit more, however, she also knew that the longer he stared at her, the sooner he'd figure out her secret. That could _not_ happen. Besides, Eugene and Sid were bound to make a joke out of it, and she would rather savor this rare moment than have it ruined by their inane remarks.

As the class began, however, Arnold returned to his thoughts of Helga. Why _did_ he start thinking about her so much in the first place? He had to admit that it did seem kind of random. What was it about her that consumed his thoughts?

But had it just started recently? Now that he thought about it, he couldn't be sure. Throughout his entire schooling life Helga seemed to weasel her way into his most private thoughts, although it was usually because she annoyed him. So when did she shift from being an annoyance to being his crush? It was weird to even think about really, him having a crush on Helga G. Pataki.

But was it really so odd? Arnold thought back to a certain April Fool's day years ago, back in the fourth grade it seemed. Helga had been playing a prank on him, as usual, yet he had chosen to retaliate. He remembered the elaborate tango that he had danced with her. The way that he had held her close, whispered to her, and simply _moved_ with her as if that moment was simply meant to be all came back to him. Was it just him, or had it always seemed a little… _flirtatious?_ It was like his entire prank on her was flirting, followed by her flirting back as she pulled him into the pool.

Is that where it had begun? Or had the flirting begun long before then? And why was he only realizing it now?

Maybe it had to do with Cecile. It was like the fake-French girl reminded him of someone he knew so well… actually, she reminded him mostly of Helga. It was strange for Arnold. Ever since Lucky had introduced the prospect of Cecile back into his life, he had been thinking of Helga more. It was probably the blonde hair and the abundance of pink, mostly. That always got him to thinking about _both_ of them at the same time. He had started comparing them, then, too. Cecile was soft and feminine and Helga was touch and tomboyish. Helga was dramatic and bold, while Cecile seemed a bit more quite and meek. Cecile was sweet, Helga was spicy. Cecile was nice, Helga was realistic. Yet both girls were still a complete mystery to him. There was just _something_ that didn't fit, but what could it be?

"Arnold!" the teacher addressed him, pulling him out of his trance.

"Uh, yes Mrs. Lackey?"

The woman sighed and shook her head. "You have no clue what I was talking about, do you?"

A blush formed on Arnold's cheeks as he grinned sheepishly. "I'm really sorry, I've just been-"

Mrs. Lackey stopped him by raising her hand. "Just… pay attention for the rest of the class time, okay?" she requested, a weary and exasperated look on her face.

"Oh! O-of course!" he hastily reassured her. She sighed.

"Alright. Helga, do you have an answer for me?" she asked the blonde girl. She spoke as if she were pleading.

"Of course! It's three pi over two," Helga replied matter-of-factly as she earned a smile of approval, or perhaps gratefulness, from the teacher.

"Thank you Ms. Pataki. Now as I was saying…"

Arnold tried his best to listen to the rest of the lecture and managed fairly well. He only had a few distracting thoughts revolving around a certain 'Ms. Pataki' and her complete opposite.

HxAAxH

By the time lunch rolled around it seemed as if Rhonda had gotten over her little 'gossip overload' that morning, but that didn't stop Curly from insisting on carrying her lunch. Rhonda was constantly denying that she was dating her personal stalker, but there had been more than one account from very reliable sources that the two had been spotted on a date together on more than one occasion.

Usually she would snap at the poor boy if he offered to do something so… _publicly affectionate_… but today she had her own agenda to tend to and didn't really want to focus on balancing a tray of food. She reached the table that she shared with Helga, Patty, Arnold, Sid, Harold, Nadine, Park, and Curly with the class psychopath in tow.

Helga watched disdainfully as the princess of Hillwood High got her personal slave to pull out her chair and place her food neatly in front of her. Why couldn't Rhonda act like a _normal_ human being?

"So, I trust that everyone has caught me up on their personal lives?" Rhonda asked the group, casting a small glare in the direction of Arnold and Sid.

"Oh, cool it, Princess. It's not like it's any of _your_ business, anyway."

"Helga!" the debutante exclaimed, "I am appalled! I'm merely taking an interest in what goes on in our friends' lives!"

"Yeah, and the ice age was 'just a little chilly,'" the sarcastic girl mumbled under her breath.

"What did you say?" the princess growled.

"Nothing!"

"Relax, Rhonda. We didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything," Arnold explained, butting in before the argument came to blows, "We were just going out with some girls who we thought were interesting, right Sid?"

The boy with slight paranoia shook his head enthusiastically.

"Fine," Rhonda stated, her tone only slightly condescending, "If these girls are so _interesting_, why don't you two bring them to my little soiree next Friday?"

"You're having another party, Rhonda?" Park asked, slightly bewildered.

"Yeesh Rhondaloid, what's it for THIS time?"

"Oh, please. Like I need an excuse to have a party." The queen of the class flipped her hair over her shoulder as if parties were an everyday occurrence; they might as well be in her world. "So, are you two up for it?"

Arnold nodded, much to Helga's chagrin. "Sure Rhonda-"

"Yeah, just you wait!" Sid interrupted, "Lucky and Cecile will be the best looking girls there!"

This outburst caused their football-headed friend to squirm in his seat a little. "Uh, Sid, maybe you should cool it a little bit," he suggested in a friendly whisper.

"What? It's true. Boy howdy, Lucky is just about the prettiest girl I've ever seen. She's so wicked awesome!"

"Criminy, Nose Boy, get a life!" Helga snapped at the boy across the table from her, "You'll get Arnold started on his 'beautiful Cecile.'" She spoke the last couple of words in a mocking tone, trying to accurately convey her level of disdain. In reality, she just wanted to forget about the mess she had created for a little while, and the constant talk of Lucky and Cecile wasn't helping.

"I believe Helga's right," Rhonda informed Sid coolly. She really couldn't stand the twerp, and right now he was really annoying. "In any case, the party will be at my house around 6:30 on Friday, and you'd better all come."

"Pfft, uh-uh. No way. Absolutely, under no circumstances, am I going to another of Rhonda's stupid parties." The Pink Thunder crossed her arms in defiance.

"I can't believe going to another one of Rhonda's stupid parties," Helga groused.

"Oh, Helga, don't be upset. I'm just ever so certain that you will have just an oh too perfect time," Lila tried to comfort her. The two were walking to Rhonda's little _soiree _together seeing as they didn't have dates. Stinky was visiting with some relatives who had come into town.

"Of course I will Lila," Helga replied with fake innocence, "Just like I do every day when I take rides on my magical unicorn."

Lila smiled at her friend. "See, that's the- oh… you're not serious, are you."

"Doi I'm not serious! I mean, Criminy, why would I have a good time? I have to wear a stupid dress and some stupid make-up just to go to a stupid party where there are stupid FOOTBALL HEADS!" The blonde girl was fuming by this point and kicked a can on the sidewalk to emphasize her emotions.

"Oh!" Little Miss Perfect's eyes lit up with realization, "I'm ever so sorry. I'm afraid I didn't realize that this was an _Arnold_ issue." She nudged Helga knowingly.

"Lila, that was the fourth grade, okay?"

"Of course, Helga."

"I'm serious."

"I'm ever so certain that I didn't imply you weren't."

"Criminy! I DO NOT have a crush on ARNOLD!"

"Well I'm just oh too sure that you used to be in _love_ with him, but I guess one can outgrow that sort of thing."

"LILA!"

"Yes, Helga?" She smiled innocently, a look that worked too well on the auburn-haired girl.

"Can we just drop this?"

"Certainly, although I'm afraid I just don't understand why you're ever so upset about this. After all, I'm oh too certain that Arnold's date won't be joining us tonight."

Helga sighed and rubbed her temples. "Believe me, I know."

The Pink Thunder had really wanted to dress up as Cecile tonight and act like Arnold's little girlfriend, but Lucky had nixed that idea. The clover hunter had reminded Helga that all of her classmates would be there and they weren't all as dense as her football headed love. Someone was bound to recognize her.

Lila sense her friend's unease. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing."

"Is this about Arnold's housemate?"

"LILA! Nothing about this conversation is about ARNOLD! Why would you bring up that chick in the first place?"

She got a shrug in response.

"Look, Lila," Helga explained, "That thing with Arnold was a long time ago. I am completely capable of having a life without _Arnoldo_ butting into it, okay? Yeesh."

"Of course you are, Helga. I'm just ever so certain that you two would make an oh too precious couple."

The blonde girl smiled wistfully. "Yeah."

"So I'm just oh too curious, but what are the kids' names going to be?"

"Phil-" Helga's eyes widened at she realized what was going on. "LILA! FOR PETE'S SAKE WOULD YOU QUIT THAT?"

"Only when you finally admit it, and you must be ever so close by _now._"

"Fine! If I tell you that I still like Arnold, would you please just leave me alone?"

"Certainly."

"Criminy!" the girl mumbled, trying to compose herself before the big explanation, "Alright, fine. I still like Arnold."

"Like, or LIKE-like?"

"Who even SAYS like-like anymore?"

"Answer the question!"

"Alright, fine. I LIKE-like him."

It was all Lila could do not to jump up and down squealing. She couldn't help it, she just loved the idea of Helga and Arnold together. It was just too perfect and romantic.

"Oh Helga," she gushed, "That's just ever so wonderful! You two are just oh too different, but I'm oh so certain that that just means you belong together just ever so much! " In her excitement she hugged her blonde friend's arms.

"Hey, hey, hey! Watch it, Miss Mary Sunshine!" she snarled, but nothing would dampen the other girl's spirits. Helga huffed angrily. "Besides, I think you're forgetting one crucial fact."

"Oh, what's that?"

"Arnold just 'loooves' Cecile." The blonde hung her head bitterly. She would take what she could get from Arnold as far as affection went, but she knew that he would never be able to love her like she did him, and it did hurt. Being Cecile did give her a way to pretend to be his love interest, but she knew that if he ever caught on that it was really Helga G. Pataki under that little piece of hair, he'd never believe it.

Lila frowned. She was sure that Cecile was a lovely girl, but Arnold didn't need lovely. He needed harsh and hard around the edges and tough yet soft on the inside. He needed someone who challenged him yet loved him no matter what. He needed a girl who could be kind and compassionate, yet who wouldn't let anyone push her around. Arnold needed Helga.

"I'm ever so certain that Arnold," Lila told her friend, "is oh too dense."

Helga smiled at the girl she had once despised.

_Little Miss Perfect is right once again._

* * *

><p><strong>You guys have NO idea how badly I wanted to put the party scene in here, but I feel like it deserves its own chapter and that you all deserved an update. I'll try to get the next update in in a more timely manner, but I'm afraid I can't make any promises. :(<strong>

**So did you like? Love? Dislike? Hate? Don't want me to ever write a word again? Have any comments, questions, concerns, or suggestions? I won't know until I get your REVIEW! :D**

-NerdilyNi

**P.S. Does anyone know of any luck sayings? I'm kind of running out of chapter names... -_-**_  
><em>


	11. Lucky Charms

**A/N: Hey, did ya miss me? I hope so! :D If not, that's okay. I'm sure you all have your own social lives, unlike me... :P**

**Anywho, sorry for the late update. Trying to beat updating every week, but I was hit with writers block for like the first time ever for awhile with this one, so I apologize if some of this seems a bit weird... cuz it probably is. :P**

**In any case, this is the party scene! Woohoo! We made it! :D I'd like to thank all my lovely reviewers, because you guys are AMAZING! You make me feel loved! 3**

**And an extra thanks to those of you who sent in title chapter name ideas, because I definitely needed one for this one and I will be needing more, so THANKS! :D**

**Also, I couldn't resist adding in a _teensy_ bit of SidxLucky fluff, even though I felt a little guilty, because I know how OCxActual Character relations can be a bit weird to read about... It still works with the story though! Anyway, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer: This show wouldn't be nearly as popular or as coherent if I owned it, I'm afraid. So thank you, Craig Bartlett, for making all this possible!<strong>

**-hold for thunderous applause-**

***cricket chirps***

**Alright, I'm getting off the stage.**

***Crowd Cheers Enthusiastically***

* * *

><p>"I have to admit Sid, I'm a little nervous," Lucky admitted as she and her boyfriend approached the entrance to the Wellington-Lloyd mansion. Sid had walked over to the boarding house so that he could escort the redhead to Rhonda's party formally. The teens around Hillwood rarely used cars because they were so used to walking around to each other's houses since they were young anyway, and so driving would only be a waste of gas. The only time that they actually used vehicular transportation was when they went bike riding- even to this day they were a very active bunch- or if they were headed to a school dance and wanted to arrive in style.<p>

"You don't have to be nervous, Lucky, they're going to love you!" the boy reassured his date. He was completely smitten with the girl, as she was him. It seemed as if they had known each other for a long time, even though this was really their second date. Most people would have thought them naïve for being so quick to become an item, but they didn't care. All that mattered to them was how much they enjoyed the other person's company.

"If you say so," she said quietly, clearly skeptical of his words.

"I'm positive." He rang to doorbell.

The door opened to reveal Rhonda Lloyd herself, wearing a form-fitting, rose red dress that puckered at certain areas, making it look like it had a rose pattern to it. Her long hair was down, as usual.

"Hey Sid! Surprised you actually made it," Rhonda greeted him with a smirk before turning to the girl next to him. After noticing Lucky, her eyes widened in shock. "Oh my!" she exclaimed, "Who is _this_?"

"That's my girlfriend, Lucky," he announced proudly. The rich girl stared dumbly as the redhead gave a small wave.

"Hello," she greeted weakly. The princess turned to Sid.

"_She_ is _your_ GIRLFRIEND? Why would she," here she wrinkled her nose in disgust, "go out with _you?_"

"Hey!"

Lucky was feeling a little more confident by now. "Well, I'd have to say that I keep wondering why _he_ would go out with _me_, Rhonda. After all, he's pretty cool, and we're I come from I'm sort of a, well, nerd… and proud of it, of course!" She smiled warmly at the hostess.

The raven-haired beauty looked her skeptically. "Whatever," she stated with a roll of her eyes, "At least you've got good fashion sense, even if your taste in boys is lacking." Lucky was wearing an off-white lace dress that hit her knees with a purple butterfly chocker around her neck. On her feet were her favorite purple flats and her hair was done up in a simple side ponytail with long, curly tendrils framing her face.

The girl in question blushed deeply at the compliment. "Thanks, I like you're outfit, too," she replied. Rhonda smiled at her.

"Well of course you do. Anyways, you guys should come in. Arnold's already here, but unfortunately _his_ date was unavailable."

"Oh yeah. Cecile really wanted to come, but her parents had planned to take her to this business dinner party or something like that. It sounded boring, so I didn't press her for details. She's my best friend," she added quickly upon noticing the fashionable teen's confused look.

"Right… Please, come in," the princess insisted as she led them through the door and to the rest of the party.

Rhonda wasn't really sure what to make of Lucky. Sure, the girl looked good and dressed well, but she acted a bit strange. It was a very confusing combination to someone who put a lot of stock into how someone looks. Then again, this was coming from the girl who was dating Curly, the King of the Bizarre. No matter how many times she denied it to her friends, she knew that they knew that it was true. She just didn't want to admit that that was what they were doing, because then she would finally have to face those feelings that she had tried so long to bury. She had secretly always liked the idea of the crazy boy liking her. It added a certain thrill to her daily life. He was actually a rather interesting person when he wasn't acting so insane, and she loved spending time with him because he always tried to be normal when they were alone. He didn't have to be the psycho Curly that everyone was used to; he could just be Curly, the guy who dated Rhonda. She kind of had a crush on _that_ one, but until he let go of his insanity, she would never admit it.

"Hiya, toots," a voice resounded behind her, "Who's the newcomer?"

She turned to find the boy from her thoughts behind her. "That's Sid's _date_, Lucky."

"Woah! How'd he get _her_?"

"I'm not quite sure, but if you ask me, I think she's a bit off, if you know what I mean."

"Oh believe me, I know what you mean," he told the girl of his dreams with a devilish smirk as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Rhonda smiled as she looked into his eyes, glad that it appeared to be a 'sane Curly' night.

A3HH3A

"So, which one's Helga?" Lucky asked Arnold as she took a breather. She and Sid had been dancing for awhile. The innocent girl wasn't one for grinding, so the two were actually doing some dorky dance moves and were having a great time just goofing off.

"I'm not sure. I haven't seen her yet," Arnold explained, a blush growing over his cheeks. Judging by the bemused look on his friend's face, she had definitely noticed him craning his neck, searching for any sign of his golden haired tormentor turned crush, which he supposed was a whole new kind of torture. If she hated him so much, then why did he like her?

"Yeah, yeah Princess, you're _so_ happy that we could make it," the two heard coming from the front door, "Now could we just come in and skip the pleasantries? I came here to _party_."

He hadn't thought it possible and yet Arnold's blush deepened. "That," he told Lucky, "is Helga."

"She sounds like a charmer," his housemate commented sarcastically. It was all she could do to keep from bursting out laughing at the entire scenario. She knew about both sides of Helga, the good and the bad, and yet she had never truly seen the 'bully Helga' in action. At camp Helga had no reason to pick on or tease the other girls. In an odd way, Lucky was kind of excited to see the full extent of her friend's meanness.

Finally, Rhonda stepped aside to reveal Helga in her usual pigtails and beanie. Instead of her pink jumper, however, she graciously sported a plain pink, strappy dress. Arnold felt tongue-tied. She was so beautiful in that unique 'Helga-way' that he had grown to love that he could feel his hands growing sweaty.

Sid materialized next to the football head and grabbed his girlfriend's hand.

"Hey Lucky, let's dance some more!" he addressed her as he led her back into the crowd.'

The retreating redhead smiled playfully at Arnold.

"Guess I'll introduce myself later," she informed him as she and Sid disappeared amongst the other party-goers.

"_That's_ Sid's _**girlfriend**_?" a surprised voice exclaimed from behind him. A startled Arnold turned to find one of the most beautiful creatures he had ever seen.

"Hi Helga," he greeted her shyly, hoping she didn't realize how much he liked her, "Oh, hey Lila."

The farm girl behind his blonde crush smiled sweetly at him while Helga's eyes followed the couple she had been referring her. She had a slightly impressed look on her face as she crossed her arms.

"Never thought he'd be one to go for the Barbie-doll type," she commented as she turned to Arnold, "So, where's your date, Hair Boy?"

Lila frowned. Had she not been clear in telling her friend that Cecile was unable to attend?

Arnold, however, was still stuck on Helga's first comment. Lucky? A Barbie doll? Hardly.

"Helga," he began, "Lucky is very… different… from what you might expect her to be-"

"Yeah, yeah, Arnoldo, she's 'really special' and all that jazz. Just like every other girl out there." The Pink Thunder rolled her eyes to emphasize her point. "So where's this Cecile chick that you're so 'in love' with?"

Arnold blushed. "I'm not in love with her," he protested weakly.

Helga scoffed to hide her disappointment. He didn't love Cecile? Why not? Did he secretly know that she was Cecile? Was that why he told her that?

"Then why do you talk about her all the time?" she challenged.

"Who talks about who all the time?" a bright voice questioned. The previous song had just ended, so Lucky and Sid had opted for another break to allow Sid to introduce his girl to more of his friends.

"Well if it isn't the Barbie doll," the blonde bully commented with a smirk, "I was just talking to Paste-For-Brains over here about his imaginary girlfriend."

"Helga!"

"Oh, can it, Football Head."

Lucky couldn't help but giggle at the sight. Arnold and Helga were flirting, and the two of them couldn't even realize it! She was beginning to wonder if they were _both_ obnoxiously dense.

"What's so funny, pipsqueak?" the Pink Thunder demanded as she placed her hands on her hips. She and Lucky had decided beforehand that the two of them were _not_ to get along at this party. If people believed her to be chummy with the odd redhead, then that would just connect her to Cecile, and then what would people think? She couldn't afford for anyone to figure out her secret.

"Oh nothing. It was just fun watching you two flirt," she teased.

It seemed as if everything in the room froze. In reality, however, it was only the other four teenagers that Lucky was talking to who stopped moving, various looks plastered on their faces.

Sid looked at her with disgust, as if the very idea of Helga having any kind of romantic notion towards Arnold was sickening. Arnold's face had a look of a deer in the headlights, as if he was scared that Helga thought that they really _were_ flirting. If so, then how long would it be before she smacked his head in? Helga looked like Arnold, except with a bit more anger and hostility in it, as she was clearly angry at her friend for making everything so awkward. Lila just looked torn. After all, she wished that Arnold and Helga would get together, but she also wondered if they would react poorly to Lucky's accusation.

Finally, Helga was the one to break the silence.

"We are _not_ flirting. Got that, geek bait?" she bellowed. Lucky grinned.

"_Sure_ you're not," she told the blonde with a wink.

"We AREN'T!" the furious one protested.

"Lucky, babe, Helga wasn't really flirting with Arnold. Those two _hate_ each other," Sid tried to explain to his girlfriend.

"Really?" she asked, as if she wanted clarification. Then, with an evil twinkle in her eye, she added, "Could've fooled me."

"That's it, you little twerp! Prepare to meet Ol' Betsy!" Helga declared, her fist ready to strike. She would never hurt her friend, even though Lucky did deserve it. What was she trying to do, broadcast Helga's secret to the entire world?

Lila was the one to restrain the blonde from letting 'Ol' Betsy' fly free.

"Helga," she explained quietly to her friend, "Remember how close she is to _Arnold._"

That thought alone was enough to stop Helga's rage. Lila really thought that she would deck Lucky? She could've smiled, because that meant that their plan was working perfectly. Instead of the happier look, however, she stomped over and glowered at the shorter girl.

"I _hate_ you," she hissed, earning a glare in return from Sid. He didn't take kindly to people threatening _his_ Lucky. Rolling her eyes, the Pink Thunder stalked off.

The girl with the four-leaf clovers smiled sweetly.

"Well she seemed nice."

A3HH3A

The party had been going for a couple of hours, and the fake tension between Helga and Lucky was definitely felt by the ones who had been there to watch it build. The redhead spent most of her time twirling about the dance floor with Sid, completely oblivious to what others were saying about her. All that mattered were the enchanting eyes of that incredible boy before her.

Helga, however, watched on with envy. Why couldn't it ever be that way for her? She had to hand it to Nose Boy; he sure had guts. Helga, on the other hand, had to pretend to be someone else just to be _nice_ to Arnold.

_How sad is __**that?**_ she thought bitterly.

"Hey, Helga," the boy of her dreams interrupted her thoughts, causing her to jump in surprise.

"Criminy, Football Head! Could you give a girl a little warning? Yeesh!" she snapped at him. She wondered if the shock was the only reason why her heart was pounding.

_Curse you, Arnold, _she thought wistfully, _for putting this bittersweet spell over my heart._

"Oh sorry," he mumbled. His gaze followed the same couple that Helga had been observing. "Sid and Lucky seem to go well together, don't they."

Helga rolled her eyes.

"Yeah right. They've got _nothing_ in common." She crossed her arms defiantly.

"What do you mean?"

"Well he plays Mr. Smooth, and she's about as awkward as all heck get out, for starters. I mean, criminy! Is that girl weird or what?" she began, "And of course she's beautiful and girly while he's grungy and… well… Sid."

"So you think that two people who seem opposite can't be in a good relationship?" Arnold asked, an inquisitive look in his eyes.

"Well…. I…. uh…." How could she answer him without giving away too much? If she said yes, he might suspect something, but could she outright lie to him? This was her big argument for why the two of them were meant to be… could she really deny it?

Arnold shrugged and looked toward the dancing throng.

"Think about it," he told the girl beside him without facing her, "Don't opposites attract?"

Helga bit her lip and followed his example as her eyes were turned to the crowd before she answered.

"I guess…"

"So really a 'cool' guy can fall for an eccentric girl, a princess can fall for a psycho, and a happening dude can fall for a book-smart gal, right?" _And someone bullied can fall for one who bullies,_ he added mentally, glad that he was not facing the one who had tortured him through grade school.

Helga shrugged, trying not to react to what he was saying too badly. Maybe, on some miniscule level, he felt an attraction to her? She tried not to get her hopes up. After all, just because Arnold was defending Lucky's relationship, it didn't mean that he was even thinking of Helga. Besides, there was also Cecile to think about.

"So what do you and Cecile have in opposite, Football Head?" she asked him in a challenging tone, as if she were trying to prove some flaw in his theory.

Arnold frowned as he thought over the question.

"I don't really know," he answered honestly, "but not every couple is like that. Some have a lot in common. Take a look at Lila and Stinky, or Harold and Patty. I guess they're more like math problems than science experiments."

"What?"

What the heck was he getting at? Where did that come from?

"Well, when you multiply two negative or two positive numbers in math, then you get a positive outcome every time, just like a couple of similar people in a relationship like Lila and Stinky. But in science, opposites attract, like magnetic forces. Get it?"

Now he turned to look at her, as if trying to make her understand what he was saying. Helga rolled her eyes playfully.

"Sounds like _someone's _been hanging out with Lucky too much," she teased with a smile, which Arnold returned.

"Yeah, she actually was the person who gave me that idea. You're not the _only_ one who noticed how odd of a pairing she and Sid are."

Neither of them realized Helga's little slip-up about Lucky.

A3HH3A

"What do you think they're talking about?" Lucky asked as she cast a glance over at Helga and Arnold while Sid spun her around the dance floor.

"Who cares?" Sid asked with a devilish grin. In truth, he really didn't care. He was having way too much fun to worry about anyone else.

It was really funny, too, considering how he thought he would hate the dancing at first. Usually at these kinds of parties he either sat off to the side or participated with the grinders. After all, he was Sid. He was the guy who could have any girl he wanted, aside from the girls he grew up with. Those girls knew too much about who he really was to actually agree to go out with him or anything like that.

That was what he didn't really understand about Lucky. After all, she was just another girl, right? No, there was something more about her, like she had a certain… charm. She was ridiculous and random and pretty and funny and eccentric all at once, and he loved that about her. Usually he didn't bother with girls who were so… innocent. Yet it was different with her. Around her he wanted to be the kid he had left behind so long ago, the one who didn't care what others thought of him… as much, anyways.

Lucky smiled up at him with one of her secretive, mischievous smiles.

"We should make them dance," she told him. He looked quizzically at the girl. "Helga and Arnold," she clarified.

He laughed, spun her out, and caught her as she twirled back in, her arms crossing over her front and her back facing him, as if she were wrapped in his arms. The thought made him smile.

"Why should we care what they do?" he whispered in her ear lightheartedly, causing her to giggle.

"Sid!"

He twirled her, thus releasing the redhead from his grasp. He smirked as their hands met again.

"What?" he questioned, feigning innocence.

Lucky rolled her eyes.

"Come on," she instructed him, firmly keeping her hold on one of his hands as she led him over to the other two teens.

Arnold was surprised to see the two of them there.

"Uh, hey guys."

Sid and Lucky remained holding hands when they finally came to a halt. Sid was wondering how he had gotten from the dance floor to where he was now. For all of the spinning and twirling he had put Lucky through, he was probably the dizzier of the two.

"Hey Arnold. Why aren't you dancing?" The question was innocent enough, but the tone of Lucky's voice seemed to suggest something to the football head. Cautiously, he glanced over to the girl next to him.

_She wouldn't even dare to do that to me… would she?_ he wondered, hoping that his friend would not purposely try to embarrass him in front of Helga. Sure, he like-liked Helga, but he wasn't even sure how much! Knowing Lucky, however, she was definitely going to try to force the two to dance.

Helga, meanwhile, was sharing the same horrific thought. _Please just leave us alone, _she pleaded inwardly.

"Uh, there's no reason I'm not dancing, heh heh," Arnold replied whilst tugging at his collar. Had the heater suddenly kicked on or something?

"Good! Then you should dance with Helga here!" the redhead exclaimed as she let go of Sid's hand and grabbed Helga's arm.

"Hey!" Helga protested as Lucky shoved her into a surprised Arnold's arms.

The mischievous redhead gave a brief wink as she once again latched onto Sid's hand and pulled him back into the dancing area, leaving Arnold and Helga to themselves.

Helga looked up at the boy she was curled into. After savoring the moment for a second or two, she quickly realized what was going on and pushed away from him, blushing madly.

"Sorry, Arnold," she mumbled as she rubbed her arm and avoided his eyes.

He, too, was blushing.

"It's alright Helga." His hand met the back of his neck. Why was he so embarrassed lately, anyway?

The two of them stood there for a moment, basking in the glow of the awkwardness.

"So, um, Helga," Arnold finally addressed the girl next to him, "Maybe we should… I dunno… dance?"

Helga turned to see an incredibly shy look on the boy's face. She could have swooned, but instead opted for a scowl.

"Well, doi! Criminy! I don't want your stupid little leprechaun friend to do that _again_, do **you**?"

He smiled, realizing that she wasn't trying to be so mean, but failing to see that she was giving them an excuse because she _wanted_ to dance with him.

"Whatever you say, Helga," he said with a half-lidded gaze as he took her hand.

A3HH3A

The blonde couple glided around the dance floor to the sweet yet upbeat melody of a slow song. Several other people had stopped grinding and actually dancing when they saw how much fun the two couples doing so were having.

"This isn't so bad, Football Head," Helga admitted as she looked up at Arnold.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, Helga." That half-lidded gaze was coming on again, but Arnold wasn't the only one. Helga seemed to have on a lovesick smile as well.

Lucky glanced over and saw the danger. Helga could **not** keep that look on her face if she wanted her secret to _stay_ a secret. Acting quickly, she maneuvered her steps so that she and Sid were right next to the blonde teens. Quickly, she tapped on Arnold's shoulder.

"Like this," she whispered, then turned her attention back to her boyfriend as he spun her around and dipped her back with a sweet smile.

_Well, _Arnold thought, _as Gerald would say, you're a bold kid, Arnold._

He gulped as he turned back to Helga. Then, with a smile, he pulled the same maneuver Sid had and dipped Helga backwards. The look of surprise on the girl's face was priceless as she looked underneath herself to see how close the ground was.

"A-a-arnold," she breathed. He smiled down at her. Their eyes locked, and for some reason, neither of them could pull away.

The heavy beat of a rap song pulled them out of their trance. The two blondes blushed as Arnold help Helga upright herself.

"Yeesh, Football Head, what were you trying to do, drop me on the ground?" Helga snapped half-heartedly at her beloved, her face as red as a tomato.

"Sorry, Helga." His face had the same complexion.

"Whatever. I'm gonna go get some punch," she told him and headed off in that direction before whirling around to bark at him, "And you'd better not follow me, bucko!"

The truth was, she would always love spending time with Arnold, but right now it would be too much for her to keep up her bullying façade seeing as they had just danced in such an… intimate… fashion.

"Criminy!" she muttered to herself, "What just happened? Did I really just dance with Arnold?"

She glanced from side to side before racing down a corner, not noticing two certain young redheads watching her. One of them, who was watching from the dance floor with her boyfriend, smiled. The other decided to follow her unruly friend.

"Oh Arnold," Helga sighed, pulling out her Arnold locket she still kept in her jumper and holding it to her chest, "How I loved waltzing around the dance floor with you, you're eyes shining like dazzling emeralds as you held me close in your arms. How could I be so heartless as to criticize you for dipping me as you did? How could anyone think ill of you doing something so wonderful? Oh, your eyes were luscious green pools filled with mystery and light. Did you see how mine were only filled with adoration of you? How is it that I cannot tell you what my eyes must have betrayed. Oh, Arnold, how I love you."

She sighed once more, and the redheaded farm girl listening in had to stop herself from chuckling at the sound. It was just ever so sweet.

"If only I could tell you the truth, my love. If only I was brave enough to tell you that not only is your best friend and housemate my _own_ best friend, but also that I am the girl you had been looking for. How can I be so cruel to you as to lie about who I am? Alas, it is because I have been too cruel to you already. I have teased and mocked you too much and now this is the only way we can be together. Oh, my beloved, how I wish that you could just take me in your strong hands once more and I could tell you that it is I, it was always me. I have been the girl you've been waiting for. Oh, Arnold, I _am_ your Cecile-"

A gasp from the eavesdropper cut the monologue short. Helga whirled around with a shocked look on her face.

"Lila!"

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><p><strong>AN: Holy crumbs! I think that was the longest chapter yet!**

**Just so you guys know, I'm still looking for chapter names! Try to think of something including "luck" or "lucky" or maybe a lucky charm of sorts.  
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**Anywho, thanks for reading. :) Let me know if you liked it, hated it, etc. in a review please!**

-NerdilyNi

**P.S. Should Sid start suspecting Lucky to be a leprechaun, or would that be too weird and random? :P**


	12. Not So Lucky

**A/N: Hi guys, I'm back from the dead! What has it been, only two weeks? I'm not sure, it just feels like it's been FOREVER since I updated. I missed it :( but I honestly did have a busy Thanksgiving break followed up by yummy AP Calculus homework... yay :(**

**Anyway, by popular vote Sid will be led to believe that Lucky is a leprechaun as a little side humor, but that won't come into play just yet. We actually have a lot of ground left to cover before the story ends, and I can't wait! It's going to be a fun ride, and I hope you'll join me!**

***Cue heartfelt-journey-breakthrough music***

**Yeah, that probably didn't make any sense to anyone else, but in my brain it worked... :P**

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, and I'm really glad that you seem to be enjoying the story. Let me know if you have any issue with grammar, timing, OOCness, etc. Thanks for everything you guys have done so far. YOU ROCK! :D  
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**Oh! And if you haven't already, you should really check out my songfic Just What Arnold's Looking For as well as my oneshot (that I'll most likely be expanding due to popular request) Two Hopeless Romantics. Thing is, I'm just "starting out" on this site, so I'm trying to get as much feedback as possible, so that's what's up with the shameless advertising. :P (Just kidding. There's some shame involved. :P)  
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**Also, I'm still accepting name ideas! I've gotten some pretty creative one's so far. Special thanks to for coming up with the name for this chapter: Not So Lucky.**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: I, NerdilyNi, do so solemnly swear that I do not own Hey Arnold!, no matter how much I wish I did. Craig Bartlett is the genius behind it all, and I am a mere drop in the great ocean that is this fandom... Sadly. :'(<strong>

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><p>"I got here as quickly as I could," Lucky announced as Helga opened the front door to her. The redhead's face looked anything but amused.<p>

The blonde bully smiled softly at her friend. "Thanks. What'd you tell Arnold?"

"Well, he thinks that I'm staying over at one of my friends from the Academy's house, but I told Pookie the truth."

Helga's eyes widened with anger as the odd girl entered the Pataki household.

"Hey! Don't give me that look," the redhead scolded, "Pookie already knows that you're Cecile anyways, _and_ that we know each other. My parents kind of left her and Phil in charge of me, and I don't want to risk getting sent back and leaving the Academy because of _your_ drama, okay?"

The Pink Thunder sighed as she closed the door.

"Fine," she consented, "Just don't make a habit of it, okay?"

"Duh," the other girl responded, accompanying the statement with the roll of her eyes as the two made their way up to Helga's room.

After Lila had overheard Helga at the party, the blonde girl figured that a damage control sleepover was definitely the only way to explain the entire fiasco so that Lila was less likely to spill the beans. After hushing Little Miss Perfect and promise a full debriefing once they were in a not-so-public event, she had managed to pull Phoebe away from Tall Hair Boy long enough to inform her of the present circumstances and ask her to get in touch with their camp friend so that they could all meet up at Helga's house later that night. Helga and Lila had left the party almost immediately, while Phoebe feigned feeling ill and Lucky explained that she had gotten a phone call from a friend requesting her to spend the night so that they could get started on a very important science project that was due on Monday and couldn't wait. Sid had pouted, but agreed that her grades were important while Gerald had offered to stay with Phoebe and take care of her. Such an offer was declined, of course.

"Lucky?" Lila asked upon the visitor's entrance, "Oh, now I'm just ever so confused!"

"Oh, save it, Miss Perfect!" Helga barked, "Criminy, do you not even remember overhearing the part about Lucky? Yeesh, maybe _you're_ the paste-for-brains."

"Helga, that's quite enough," Phoebe scolded her, then addressed the group as a whole, "I guess there's a lot of explaining to be done, correct?" Lila nodded, Lucky shrugged, and Helga rolled her eyes. "Alright then. Helga, would you like to proceed?"

"Criminy! Why do I have to?"

"Because you ruined not only Phoebe's date, but _mine_ as well just because you can't keep your swooning to shrines you build in closets, Pataki," Lucky snapped.

"Lucky!"

"Can it, Helga. I was having a pretty good time, so yeah, I'm a bit miffed."

"Well for your information, Clover Girl, Miss Mary Sunshine over here was the one who was snooping around," Helga defended herself.

"Oh please," Lucky scoffed, "If _you_ weren't so lousy at keeping you're undying adoration for the Football Head a secret-"

"Hey! I'll have you know that she already _knew_ about the whole Arnold situation-"

"You're only proving my point, Pataki-"

"Would you both quit it!" Phoebe bellowed, interrupting their argument. Both girls immediately disengaged, mumbling to themselves. "Thank you. Now Helga, would you kindly explain this… interesting… situation to Lila?"

"Alright already! Yeesh, don't have to get your panties in a twist," Helga snarled before beginning, "Okay, so you already know about me loving Arnold, right?" She winced as the words left her mouth, somewhat unwilling to admit it even to people she had already told. Lila simply nodded, encouraging her to go on. She sighed as she continued, "Well, Phoebe and I have been going to this one camp, Camp Oakledge, every summer since about the summer after sixth grade. That's where we met Lucky, here. She seemed like an okay person, so all three of us decided to bunk together rather than being stuck with a couple of losers, and by the end of the summer we all became pretty good friends and decided to keep in touch and meet up again at the same place the next year. It became sort of a yearly tradition, I guess.

"Anyways, Lucky, Phoebe, and I got pretty close, and we started sharing secrets. One of the ones that Clover Girl really got a kick out of was the one about Arnold…. or really almost _everything_ about Arnold. Her favorite story of my schemes was the one about the fourth grade Valentine's day date with Arnold."

"Wait, I'm ever so certain that I've never heard that story. You and Arnold had an oh too real date?" Lila interjected, shocked at this new piece of information. Helga rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

"Yeah… Long story short I masqueraded as Arnold's pen pal Cecile and got him to go on a date with me. Then the _real _Cecile showed up, so he found out that I was a fake, but not who I really was. Anyways, the past summer at camp, Lucky told us that she was accepted into Hillwood Academy For the Gifted, but she probably wouldn't be able to go because she lived too far away.

"Well apparently her parents found a place for her to stay, and that was by renting a room in the Sunset Arms. The little runt decided to inform Pheebs and me of this _after_ she had already moved in, so I decided to lay some ground rules. Then she came up with this harebrained scheme of having me pretend to be Cecile _again_ in order to try and win over Arnold. Everyone satisfied?" she asked as she finished up her tale.

"I'm oh so certain that I understand," Lila began, "But how does Sid fit into the picture?"

"I don't know! Ask Clover Girl," Helga told her, pointing towards the girl in question. The girls all turned to face her.

"What?" Lucky asked, "I kinda like him, okay?" Her face began to match the color of her hair.

Lila and Phoebe shared a knowing smile as Helga rolled her eyes playfully. The sweet redhead from the farm then got back to the task at hand.

"So let me make sure I'm ever so certain about this: Helga's oh so special someone is Arnold, and Lucky is one of your ever so special friends, so Lucky is dating Sid, Phoebe is dating Gerald, and Helga is dating Arnold under the oh too clever guise of someone Arnold went on a date with years ago, who was also really Helga, with ever so much help from Lucky and Phoebe, correct?"

"Sort of. You pretty much got the gist of it," Lucky agreed.

"Great," Helga announced, "Now that that's settled, who wants to watch a horror movie?"

"Helga!" Phoebe scolded as her face, along with Lila's, went a shade paler than normal. Lucky looked toward the two of them and smiled with an evil glint in her eye. Helga caught that look and imitated it.

"Looks like we're in for an interesting night," she told her fellow miscreant. Lucky's smile widened and became more sinister.

"Es muy interesante," she concurred. Phoebe and Lila turned to her with questioning looks. "What?" she asked innocently.

"Yeah," the blonde of the group piped up, "You guys should Lucky's a totally weird and eccentric nerd by _now_."

"Hey! I represent that remark!"

Helga smirked. "We know."

The girls continued giggling as they decided upon a movie that they _all_ were willing to watch, thus beginning the "sleepover" phase of the meeting.

H3AA3H

A few weeks passed as the school year picked up, and many dates had been made an gone on. Arnold always jumped at the chance to go out with Cecile, and they often doubled with either Phoebe and Gerald or Sid and Lucky. Other times, however, they went by themselves. This usually happened with Sid and Lucky were doubling with Gerald and Phoebe _themselves._

Sometimes, however, Cecile came over to the boarding house just to hang out with Lucky or Lucky and Phoebe. Arnold tried to stay away from the girls at times like these, but always failed miserably. That was part of his whole dilemma. He really liked Helga, but he also really liked Cecile, and wanted to get to know her better.

"Hey Arnold!" Lucky greeted her friend after school one Friday afternoon.

"Hi, Lucky," he replied with a smile, "How was your day?"

"Eh, pretty good. Had a test in AP Latin today that was a total breeze, but it was still a _test,_ which I despise." She shrugged. "Anywho, Cecile's spending the night tonight."

"That's ni- Wait, Cecile is spending _the night?_ _**Here?**_"

"Yeah, is that a problem?" She looked at him questionably, as if he had gone crazy or something.

"Oh, uh, yeah. That's fine, heh heh…"

Inwardly however, he was freaking out.

_What am I supposed to do?_ he thought, _Am I supposed to stay away from them all night and hide up in my room? Will Cecile __expect to see me? Will she __**want**__ to see me? What if I accidentally see her in her pajamas? What if I start thinking aloud again about __**Helga? **__Do I join them for breakfast? Do I tell them goodnight? Does she even want to talk to me? I'm not prepared fo__r this!_

The time had come, however, for Cecile to arrive at the Sunset Arms, and Arnold still hadn't figured out what to do with himself as he stupidly sat in the living room, watching some mind numbing program he couldn't quite follow. He was too distracted by the nervous feeling in his stomach.

"Hey Shortman! Cecile and I are going to order pizza. Do you have any specific order you want? You're welcome to join us, you know," Lucky explained to him as she appeared in the doorway, the girl of his thoughts trailing behind.

"O-oh!" he stuttered, clearly flustered and unsure of how to respond, "Um, s-sure. Pepperoni for me, p-please."

"Cool. After we order, we're actually gonna head up to my room to watch a movie or something. Care to join us?"

"Oh, um…" He really wasn't sure what to say. After all, it sounded kind of like he was crashing their sleepover. One look at Cecile's warm smile, however, and he was a goner. "Sure. What movie?"

He was too busy gazing at Cecile with his stupid half-lidded eyes to notice Lucky's eye roll. She couldn't believe how dense this boy could be. Why was he still mooning after Cecile when he already admitted that he liked Helga?

Honestly, the twisted love story between Arnold and Helga got to her sometimes. It was obvious to her and Phoebe that the two belonged together, so why couldn't _they_ see it? Apparently Arnold wasn't the only dense one.

She refrained from saying anything, however, due to the fact that it really was their job to admit their feelings to one another. Of course, she also liked having an excuse to make up crazy schemes. Having to keep on your toes in order to not reveal something certainly kept life interesting, even though it was occasionally tiresome. Still, the charade had to end _sometime._ It was only a matter of who ended it, why he or she did, and how.

Lucky's eyes twinkled as an idea came to her.

Cecile smiled at Arnold. "We were planning on watch-"

"**Actually,** Arnold, _I_ wanted to watch Evil Twin VII," the redhead interrupted, "But Cecile here thought it would be too scary, so we thought we'd watch The Happy Little Elf."

She was rewarded with an offset look from her housemate and a menacing glare from her best friend.

"On second thought," Arnold told the girls, "I probably shouldn't crash on your sleepover."

Lucky shrugged. "Suit yourself. Come on Cecile."

Helga's growl was audible as the two climbed the stairs.

H3AA3H

"Criminy, what'd you do that for?" Helga demanded as soon as Lucky's door was closed.

"What?" the girl asked innocently, "I thought you wanted Arnold to think you were a nice girl."

"Yeah, nice! Not a stinking _throw pillow_!"

"Calm down, would you? You are _so_ melodramatic."

"That's kind of my thing, in case you haven't noticed. I mean, yeesh, have I not told you about my closet shrine?"

"That still doesn't mean you can yell at me all you want, Pataki. I'm _trying_ to do you a favor here."

"How was that a favor? Arnold probably thinks I'm some weirdo freak who can't grow up or something!"

"Eh. I'm a weirdo freak who can't really grow up, and he likes me just fine." Lucky shrugged.

"Yeah, he likes you 'just fine,' but I'm kind of hoping that he'll, you know, like me like me…"

The redhead just stared at her friend blankly for a few moments before responding.

"You know, if you're still using the term 'like-like,' then maybe you _are_ a weirdo freak who can't grow up."

"Very funny, Clover Girl," Helga growled. She was answered with a smug smile.

"I try."

The blonde girl sighed. Lucky took the hint that she should stop joking for the time being.

"You know, Helga, there's one thing you forgot to remember about our little masquerade here," she said quietly.

"Oh yeah? Enlighten me."

"Someday, Arnold _is_ going to have to find out the truth."

"And how are you so sure about that?" Helga snapped.

"Seriously? You should know by now that Arnold can't very well get married to someone who _doesn't exist_ if things wind up the way you want it to. Our scheme has been fun, but don't you think enough is enough?"

"Lucky, I just _can't._ He can never know that I'm Cecile."

"Why not? Don't you think he'll just be hurt if he ever _does _figure it out before you tell him? Really Helga, if he likes Cecile as much as he should after dating her for this long, then you really shouldn't be afraid of his reaction."

"Don't you get it? Criminy! You think you can come here for a few months and get all chummy with the Football Head and understand what his reaction will be to me telling him that I am the girl he's been searching for? Me, Helga G. Pataki? The girl who has taunted him throughout his life? He'd think it was a cruel practical joke or something!"

"Or maybe he's not as dense as you thought and _knows_ that there's goodness in you, Helga! Man up and take the plunge already!"

"And have him laugh in my face or hate me forever? I don't think so, sister!"

Lucky had to bite her tongue from yelling out a response she would regret. She knew that Arnold had to be the one to tell Helga that he had a crush on her. The two of them had to learn to either communicate or understand each other _sometime._ She could only help them along to these confessions and realizations.

Instead, she opted for a change of subject.

"Look, are we gonna watch the movie or what?"

Judging from Helga's glare, that subject wasn't much better.

Lucky sighed in exasperation. "Fine then. What do _you_ wanna do, Pataki?"

The blonde's face brightened with a mischievous smile. "Well…"

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><p><strong>AN: I _was_ going to continue on, but I felt like you all deserved an update. :) I'm actually pretty psyched about the next chapters, so stick with me if you're interested!**

**Also, I can't improve unless you leave constructive criticism in a **

**_REVIEW!_**

**It'd be well appreciated! :D**

-NerdilyNi**  
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	13. Unlucky 13

**A/N: Oh my gosh! It's taken me a MONTH to get this up? I am sooooo sorry guys! I really didn't mean to take this long. I just ran into a little trouble...**

**It's going to tak me a bit longer than usual to post chapters because my laptop hates me... with a burning passion. I swear, it hates me more than Helga loves Arnold... -_- If you REALLY care about how much it truly hates me, you can check out the rant I posted about how dilapidated it has become in the past month.**

**Basically it has acquired various injuries, including aesthetic damage, a virus, and, last but certainly not least, a problem with the keyboard. As in, the stinking SPACE BAR doesn't work, along with various other keys. Problem is, I'm not going to be able o get it fixed until probably the beginning of March, since March 2nd is my birthday and my parents will probably pay for it as a birthday present.**

**Luckily, I am able to type on the family computer. It's just harder because my family uses it. My dad needs it for work and my mom needs it for school, so what can I do? Wait until they're done with it, duh. :P I just can't type on a whim now like I used to...**

**Anyways, thank you to my reviewer Usha who reminded me to get a move on with this. The truth was, I love typing, but I felt like I was losing my muse because I couldn't type when I felt inspired with this story. So I just decided to force myself to type, and the words kind of poured out of me, thank goodness! XP**

**Although I really hate some parts of this chapter because they seem a bit... unnatural... O_O**

**Anywho, I would also like to thank Nep2uune for giving me an EXCELLENT idea to use that really helped the story quite a bit. I'll tell you what it was in a little bit. XD**

**I should probably warn you guys that there is a lot of SidxLucky stuff in this chapter. It kind of just fit, but I apologize if it annoys you...I just need to establish that they have a strong relationship, because it _is_ important for the story later on. Thanks for bearing with me!  
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**And I'm still appreciating title names. Goodness, I love what you guys have come up with. This one is just titled Unlucky 13 because it's the thirteenth chapter and it's REALLY unlucky! XP Oh, and if you can think of other ways to word 'leprechaun,' please let me know. I feel... repetitive... DX  
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**But I should probably shut up now and let you get to the good stuff...**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: Do I own Hey Arnold! Ask Craig Bartlett. He'll tell you.<strong>

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><p>"Hey, Pookie, could you do me a favor and send Sid up to Arnold's room when he gets here?"<p>

"Sure thing, young leprechaun."

Lucky smiled gratefully at the older woman. "Thanks."

Originally, Lucky had planned for a simple sleepover between her and Helga while Phoebe was off at Rhonda's own sleepover. Helga had decided against going, so the two of them had planned to spend the evening furthering the Cecile façade and hanging out. Of course, Lucky should have guessed that it was physically impossible for Helga to know that Arnold was right downstairs and not talk to him for an entire evening. Due to this, and the fact that the redhead was feeling just a _tad_ guilty over fighting with her best friend, she had allowed Helga to turn their Girl's Night into a double date. Of course, the fact that she hadn't been able to spend a lot of time with Sid lately did have some effect over her decision.

The girl sighed as she ascended the stairs towards Arnold's room, where the double date was to occur as it was a lot bigger than Lucky's and had a bigger T.V. It would also be harder for the four of them to hear random fights from the boarders, if there happened to be any. Everything was going to be perfect.

Now if only they could decide what movie to watch.

*~H3AA3H~*

"Well who is this handsome young man?" Susie asked as she entered the front walkway. The sound of a doorbell was too much for the young woman to resist. After all, not many visitors came to the Sunset Arms.

Sid blushed at the compliment and opened his mouth to respond, but Pookie beat him to it.

"Oh, that's just Sid, the leprechaun's special little friend."

The imaginative boy was taken aback. _Did she just say Lucky was__ a __**leprechaun**__?_

In the time it took him to wonder such a thought, however, it seemed as if every male boarder materialized either in the kitchen or the living room. Even Phil made an appearance on the staircase.

"Woah-ho-ho," Ernie began. Stepping out of the kitchen doorway to circle the poor kid, "So you're the guy who thinks he's got what it takes to be with our good luck charm, eh?"

"Wha-?"

"I do not like him. Look at how he is dressed. It is very creepy!" Mr. Hyunh interjected.

The young man, dressed in his signature black leather jacket and white beetle boots, became indignant.

"I am _not _creepy!" he protested.

"Oh, calm down, would ya?" Phil told him, "We just want to have a friendly little chat with you, _right_, fellas?"

"Oh, sure, sure," Ernie agreed, "Just a small talk about your intentions with a certain young female of our acquaintance."

The wink that the demolitionist shot Sid, however, was of a rather sinister nature.

"U-um, oh-okay," the nervous boy sputtered.

"Good then." Phil acknowledged his compliance with a less than comforting smile. "Pookie, please show our guest into the living room. Hyunh, Potts, and I need to talk with him _privately._"

"Hey Grandpa, what about me? I want to talk to him, too, eh heheheh…"

"Kokoshka, you good for nothing cheapskate, stay outta this! And _don't call me __**Grandpa!**_" the old man ordered. The _last_ thing he wanted was for his worst tenant to leave a bad impression on Lucky's boyfriend. Sure, the other three men were going to try and intimidate the heck out of the boy, but that didn't mean that Phil wanted him to dislike them. Lucky was family. Honestly, they would have done the same thing to Arnold if he had been a girl in the same predicament.

"But Grandpa-"

"Come on, Oskar," Susie urged him with a sigh, "Let's go up to our room and I'll make you a sandwich."

"Oh, goody. I'm starving!"

"You're _always_ starving."

"Which is why you should make me food more often! Eh hehehehe…"

"Oh, Oskar…"

Their conversation continued as Susie led her husband back to their room and Pookie ushered Sid into the living room and seated him on the couch. The three men sat in chairs across from him. Needless to say, the young man was very, _very_ nervous. Phil could only laugh at the boy's obvious discomfort.

"You can relax, sonny. Nobody's gonna hurt you, at least not here anyways," the older gentleman added with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, "We just want to lay down a few ground rules, understand?"

Sid nodded furiously.

"Good," Ernie interjected with a firm nod of the head, "Now you _know_ Lucky isn't the easiest to catch. I mean, she won't go out with just _anyone._"

_Catch,_ Sid thought, _like a leprechaun.._

Why could he just let Pookie's crazy comment go? He wasn't sure why, but the idea that he was dating a mythological creature didn't seem too far-fetched to the young man. After all, the evidence did seem to point in that general direction. Her red hair, quirky nature, affinity for four-leaf clovers, her name, and even the strange way she appeared in Hillwood seemed to be leading him to that conclusion.

"That's right. You must treat her with respect," Mr. Hyunh added, pulling Sid from his thoughts.

"Of course," the boy agreed heartily. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt his girlfriend… who just might be able to grant him a wish or two…

His compliance elicited a smile from Phil.

"Look," the old man continued, this time with less of a warning in his voice, "we know you're one of Shortman's friends, and we trust his judgment." He winked at the youth in front of him before becoming deathly serious once more. "_Don't_ make us have any reason to doubt it, kapiche?"

The teenager gulped under Arnold's grandpa's stare.

"Yes sir!" he exclaimed, giving a small salute in the process.

"Glad we have an understanding," Mr. Potts said with a wink, while Mr. Hyunh simply nodded.

Sid turned to look Phil in the eye once more as the man gave his final warning.

"Just don't go lying to her."

Once more, the poor boy nodded wholeheartedly. After all, who would be stupid enough to try and lie to someone like her? Even if his suspicions were wrong, which he highly doubted, she seemed to know _everything._ Sid was sure that his girlfriend would certainly be able to tell if he gave her some little fib about anything. She was wicked awesome.

"Hey, Pookie!" an obviously female voice called as footsteps were heard emanating from the staircase, causing the entire living-room party to glance toward the entryway, "Do you think you could whip us up some popcorn?"

Sure enough, the girl who Sid couldn't stop thinking about materialized in front of them.

Ernie, Mr. Hyunh, and Phil, however, could only look nervously at one another. Yes, Lucky was family and Phil had been trusted to look after her in a way, but they weren't entirely sure how understanding the teen would be of the trio interrogating her boyfriend. That was part of the downside to her unpredictable nature.

"Sure thing, lucky gal!"

The redhead rolled her eyes and giggled slightly before turning to go back up the stairs. She stopped mid-turn, however, when she noticed the four males in the living room. Squinting her eyes, she entered, a confused look adorning her features.

"Sid? Why didn't Pookie send you upstairs like I asked?" she wondered aloud. Yet when she noticed exactly who was in the room along with her boyfriend, she groaned with realization. "Are you guys _serious?"_

"Uh…" was all Ernie could offer in his defense. The other two offenders could only look at the ground helplessly.

"Alright," she began, turning to Sid, "what'd they do to you?"

Her boyfriend, however, was still rather afraid of Lucky's protectors, and was unsure of the fate that would inevitably befall him if he revealed the purpose of their discussion.

"I… uh… we just… I mean… um…."he stuttered, unable to actually say anything.

The girl rolled her eyes.

"Judging by your inability to form a coherent sentence, I'm guessing that they just put you through the inevitable inquisition that I told them **was not necessary**," she determined, staring pointedly at the three men as she spoke that last phrase, "yet I knew that they were probably going to try to do behind my back anyway even though I had already warned them that I **would find out**, and now you are too traumatized by their inane threats to actually authenticate my presumptions. Am I accurate?"

The males in the room just stared sheepishly at one another, fearing the wrath of the young lady in front of them.

"Your stunned silence is _very_ reassuring," she stated sarcastically before starting in on her housemates, "And you guys, come on! Why did you have to scare him like that? He's already on the skittish side. What did you want to do, cause him to go into cardiac arrest? Trust me, his 'intentions' are noble, at least as far as I can tell. After all, we haven't even kissed yet," here Sid blushed as this fact became public knowledge, "and he's still stuck by me throughout all of my absurdity and outright insanity. He's kind of a sweetheart, once you get to know him, although the leather jacket _migh__t _lead you to believe otherwise."

Her voice seemed to shift from annoyed to playful in a split second, but no one dared to comment on it in fear that it would set her off again.

"Then again, I should probably feel honored by the knowledge that the three of you would go through so much trouble for me. It really was a sweet, if misguided, gesture."

Without a warning, Lucky crossed the room and gave the three interrogators a nice, big hug each before grabbing Sid's hand and pulling him toward the entryway.

"Now, however," she told the very confused men, "I'd like to go on a double date with my boyfriend, so I guess we'll grab our popcorn and be on our way!"

She giggled as she whisked Sid into the kitchen with her. True, she seemed to go through a million different emotions at once, but the teen did secretly take pleasure in confusing people. The looks on their faces were always amusing to the girl.

"Nice job putting those fellas in their place, little leprechaun," Pookie congratulated her with a wink, "I would've done the exact same thing."

Lucky laughed. "Those poor guys! They're having to go through life dealing with crazy females like us. At least they have Susie to offset the insanity a centimeter or two!"

"Wait a second," Sid interrupted, finally coming up to speed, "You confused them _on purpose?_"

The two women stared at him for a moment before bursting out laughing.

"Oh Sid," his girlfriend informed him, "There's obviously a lot you don't know about me."

_Like the fact that you're a mythological __creature of luck and wishes, perhaps?_

"Alright now, you two, I don't want to keep you from your little get together with Kimba and his little girlfriend-"

"Cecile is _not_ his girlfriend," Lucky interjected firmly.

"-so I'll send Phil up with the popcorn in a little bit. Meanwhile you can take those chocolate covered raspberries and strawberries in the fridge that the bum's wife made for your little sleep over up to snack on. Is that okay?"

"Thank you so much!" a beaming Lucky expressed her gratitude as she threw her arms around the older woman, "Pookie, you and Susie are _the __**best**_!"

"Just don't forget it!" Arnold's grandmother told her.

The two teens continued to thank her for her kindness as they grabbed the trays of premade sweets and began the ascent to Arnold's room, where their friends awaited their presence.

H3AA3H

"I'm going to head down and ask Pookie to make us some popcorn before we start the movie, okay?" Lucky told her two friends, "Can you guys decide on a movie while I'm gone."

"Of course we can," Helga replied with a little bit of edge. She was still a little miffed that her so-called friend had made her seem so… girly in front of Arnold earlier.

"Alright, Cecile, just making sure," the redhead assured her, "It's just that the majority of Arnold's movies are kind of tough, gory, or scary, and I _know_ how much you detest those kinds of stories."

From where he was, Arnold was completely unaware of the glare his date was giving his innocently smiling friend.

"I'm sure we'll find something to watch," Arnold assured her, "You just take care of the popcorn."

"Aye, aye, Captain!" Lucky saluted as she exited the room, leaving Helga and Arnold to their own devices.

"She's so eccentric," Helga mused fondly from her spot on the couch.

Arnold was searching through his DVDs on the shelves near his bed.

"I guess so," he agreed, glancing over at the girl, "but she has great taste in friends."

"And here I thought you were modest!" she joked with a laugh.

"No, wait…. I meant that, you know, you were… um… great…"

"Relax, Arnold. I'm just teasing."

"I know…"

"Hey, brighten up. Where's that optimistic boy that I know?"

Arnold smiled at her, but it seemed as if something was missing. Sure, Cecile was sweet and he never had to worry about saying the wrong thing, but the fact that they were so comfortable with one another made their conversations a bit… boring. Yes, they did have fun doing things together, but it was never really exciting. It was as if she was holding something back, and it was causing their relationship to be a little lackluster.

Maybe it was because he couldn't stop comparing Cecile to Helga. He still wasn't entirely sure why he did it. It probably had to do with how different and yet similar the two were. Cecile was girly and Helga was tomboyish. That he already knew. Yet Helga could be feminine in her own way, too.

_It's not so much that they're so different, but it's more like Cecile is an extreme version of the secret side of Helga,_ he decided, _But I can't really tell if tha__t's a good thing or not…_

"Yoo-hoo, Arnold, come in Arnold!" Cecile called as she waved her hand in his face. Arnold had been so deep in thought that he hadn't seen her approach him.

"Oh, sorry! I was just thinking."

"About what?"

Arnold turned toward her and looked her in her one visible eye. Not for the first time, he wondered what he would find if he just simply unveiled the other side of her face. What was Cecile hiding?

"Arnold?" she prompted when he gave no response.

"Nothing," he told her with a smile, "Here, why don't you try and pick out a movie that we could watch?"

"Okay," the teenage girl replied, eyeing him suspiciously, "If you're sure…"

"I'm positive."

Helga loved the warm smile that he gave her, but she couldn't help but feel as if Arnold wasn't completely there.

_What is it?_ she wondered desperately, _Does he not like Cecile anymore or something?_

The girl cringed at the thought before a worse one came to mind.

_Does he __**recognize**__ me?_

A3HH3A

"Sorry about whatever they put you through down there," Lucky apologized to Sid as the two made their way toward Arnold's room, "Believe you me, had I know you were down there I would have rescued you sooner."

_I bet she would have rescued me easily,_ the boy beside her mused, _She probably __has a lot of experience escaping traps…_

"Although I hope we haven't left Arnold and Cecile alone for too long," she continued. Sid found the anxiety in her voice a bit confusing.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much," he told her, trying to ease her fears, "Arnold doesn't have the guts to put the moves on a girl."

"It's not the Football Head I'm worried about," the redhead mumbled under her breath.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing!" she quipped innocently, "Just thinking aloud."

"You know, some people think that talking to oneself is a sign of insanity," her boyfriend joked. Lucky's face took on a slightly sinister look.

"I'm not sure I'd disagree with them."

Sid's eyes got wide and he stared at her in horror, while his girlfriend broke out into a fit of giggles.

"Come on," she told him as she smiled sincerely, "We don't need to give those two any more alone time."

"But Lucky, I told you already. Arnold-"

"**Arnold** isn't the one we need to watch out for; Cecile is."

"I don't under-"

The redhead stopped short and sighed, causing the boy beside her to stop as well. He turned toward her with a questioning look.

"Look, Sid, can you keep a secret?" she asked, her voice grave and face serious.

"Of course I can," he whispered solemnly, "You can trust me with anything. I _am_ your boyfriend, after all."

He waited patiently for her to find the words, wondering what she would tell him.

_I wonder if it has anything to do with her being a leper-_

"Cecile _really_ likes Arnold," she finally blurted, "Probably enough to try and steal a kiss…"

"Well that's not a bad thing," Sid told her, "After all, she likes him and he likes her-"

"But he _doesn't_ like her, Sid!"

"Huh?"

"Well, he does, but not as much as he likes someone _else…_"

Sid saw where this was going, and he didn't like it one bit.

"That dirty rat! He better not have tried to pull anything!" he cried, clearly outraged, "I can't believe him, trying to put the moves on another guy's girl…"

"Wait…. What?"

"Not that I can blame him. You are a smart, beautiful girl living right under his nose; but that does _not_ give him the right to steal you away from me!" Sid continued his rant.

"Hang on- WHAT?"

"Why, when I get my hands on him, I'm gonna-"

"Hold the phone there for a sec, sly guy. **What** exactly do you think is going on here?"

"Well," Sid began, a little confused, "You're feeling a little uncomfortable because Arnold was trying to flirt with you…"

"What? EW!" Lucky exclaimed, gagging, "Oh geez! That's just sick!"

"What is?" the other teen asked innocently, more confused than ever.

"I said…. And you thought… Arnold… and me? Oh dear LORD no! That's just…. Eeeew! So **wrong!**" She shuddered at the mere thought.

"What do you mean?"

"Sid, Arnold's like my **brother**! The scenario that you just proposed is, like, 10 different types of sick and WRONG!"

"Oh…."

"Besides, he would never do that to you. He's your friend. And I would never do that to Cecile, either."

"But I thought you said that he didn't like her?"

"I said that he didn't like her _as _much as this other person. Anyways, even if he just plain didn't like her, that still doesn't mean that I'd hurt her like that!"

"Oh, right…. Well, then… Who _were_ you talking about?"

Lucky rolled her eyes.

"I'm _talking_ about a girl at your school that he likes. Apparently he's been friends with her for a long time."

"Really?" he asked her. At his girlfriend's affirmative nod, he almost realized who she was talking about and nearly doubled over laughing. "Oh, this is too rich!"

"What?"

"Arnold likes _Helga?_ The girl who has been bullying him since pre-k?" he questioned through his fit of hysteria, "Boy howdy, this is just _too_ perfect! I've gotta tell the other guys!"

"NO, Sid! You promised, remember?" the redhead reminded him. She looked as if she were pleading with him.

Sid was about to protest that this opportunity was way too good to pass up, but when he looked into his girlfriend's eyes, he knew he had no choice but to respect her wishes. Mythical creature or no, Lucky sure had a magic spell over him.

"Alright," he conceded, and was rewarded by Lucky throwing her free arm around him, almost causing him to spill his own tray.

"Thank you so much! I knew I could count on you," she told him as she pulled away. One look at her bright face and his heart melted.

The chuckles threatened to bubble up again in the back of his throat, however, when he imagined _Arnold_ feeling the same way about _Helga G. Pataki._

H3AA3H

The movie that was finally decided upon was a classic animated movie about a daring thief and a brash princess that they had all seen a million times before, yet still enjoyed it both for its action and romance. After searching endlessly for something in Arnold's repertoire that was "Cecile friendly," Helga had finally given up and looked for something in Lucky's collection, which is where they had found this often-forgotten gem of a flick. Phil had long since delivered the popcorn and the four teenagers were about halfway through their cinematic feature. The only sounds in the room were the ones of the story unfolding on the screen, someone lightly munching on popcorn, and Lucky giggling as Sid kept trying to feed her chocolate-covered strawberries and raspberries.

"Sid!" she admonished him quietly through her chuckles.

Arnold, distracted from the movie by the slightly audible whisper, smiled sweetly at the sight of his friends' light flirting. Observing such an event actually gave him an idea.

_You know, maybe Cecile and I could…_

Helga was resisting the urge to blow that darned lock of hair falling over her one eye out of her face. Sure, it obstructed her view, but there was no way that she was going to blow her cover like that. A bubble of frustration was rising quickly within her when she felt a light tap on her shoulder,. Upon turning to see the Football Head's boyish smile, she nearly swooned.

_Oh, Arnold…_

She could vaguely make out that he was holding up something, but the lack of lighting in the room combined with that abominable lock of hair prevented her from getting a good look at it. Arnold noticed her slight confusion and gestured to Side, who was busy popping some morsel into Lucky's mouth. Helga's eyes widened and she smiled as she realized what the boy beside her was meaning to do. Taking her response as a sign of encouragement, the blonde boy popped a single chocolate-covered strawberry into his date's mouth.

Of course, Helga didn't know that.

_Wow,_ she thought, _this is __**really**__ good! I haven't tasted something like this in __**years!**__ I wonder what-_

It wasn't until she felt her airways involuntarily tighten that she figured out with horror what Arnold had just fed her.

_Oh, CRIMINY! _she thought in panic as she gasped sharply, trying desperately to get some air while she still could.

"Cecile?" Arnold asked, the worry in his voice clearly evident, "Cecile, what's wrong?"

Lucky and Sid turned toward their friends in confusion and finally heard Helga's strangled gasps.

"Sid, get the lights!" Lucky ordered as she rushed to her swollen and purple friend. "Arnold, what happened?"

"I… um… well," he stammered, a bit too shy to actually admit to feeding a girl something, not to mention completely freaked out by what was going on with his date.

"Look here, Shortman," the fiery redhead snapped at him, "I don't care about how _bashful_ you're feeling right now! All I know is that my best friend is more swollen and purple than Barney the Stinkin' DINOSAUR! _Now tell me what in the heck __**happened!**_"

Side watched the events unfold before him in fear. He now knew that his girlfriend's wrath was something to be avoided at all costs.

"I-uh… fed…" the poor blonde boy floundered, searching for the right words before simply blurting out, "STRAWBERRY!"

The two teenage boys had hoped that it wasn't possible, yet Lucky seemed to be even more furious due to Arnold's admission.

"You fed her a _**STRAWBERRY?**_" she squeaked in rage before pacing the room in panic, "Oh, crumb-ola! She's _allergic_, you dolt!"

"Allergic?"

"Oh goodness gracious… Sid, hand me my green bag over there, would ya?"

After her request had been met, the intelligent young woman extracted a small EPI pen from her purse.

"Bingo," she stated simply and she stabbed Helga in the leg with the device. Immediately, the swelling went down a little and the blonde girl could breathe again.

"Oh thank God," Arnold breathed.

Sid, however, was staring curiously at the now-empty pen in his girlfriend's hand.

"Lucky, I didn't know you had any allergies..." he puzzled.

"Aside from pollen, I don't."

"Well then how did you get one of-"

The odd girl simply turned to the paranoid boy and gave him an un-amused look.

"Are you _seriously _surprised? Come on, I have a blood pressure cuff and a stethoscope in my room. I mean, let's face it, that's not even covering _half_ of the somewhat practical randomness I own. Now hush up and help me get Cecile downstairs," she instructed.

"What for?" their football-headed companion asked.

The look that his intelligent housemate shot him bluntly asked if he was stupid.

"Because, you numbskull, she still needs to get checked out by the hospital, duh."

"I'll go with you!"

"Look Arnold," Lucky sighed, "It's _our_ sleepover, so I'll just take her. Besides, I don't know how her parents would take to the idea of her spending the night at the same house as a guy that she's dating. They're kind of old fashioned, and anyways, I'll just have her call you tomorrow or something."

"Fine," the boy reluctantly conceded, "Just call me when you get there, okay?"

"Can do, Sergeant Clueless. Come on, Cecile, let's get Pookie to take us to the hospital…"

Arnold could only helplessly follow as Lucky and Sid carried his injured date downstairs.

A3HH3A

"I cannot believe this!" Gerald told his friend with a light chuckle.

The night had passed in a sleepless fashion for poor Arnold, and he had finally given up on sleep when it reached seven in the morning, opting to call his best friend instead.

"Gerald, this isn't funny! I could have killed her!"

"Honestly, man, that's what you get for trying to take a dating cue from _Sid._"

The altruistic teen groaned in response at his friend's bad, even if completely accurate, joke.

"Hey, relax buddy," the tall-haired teen told him, "How about we meet at the down at the arcade to get your mind off of things."

"I don't think so. Lucky claims that Cecile and I need to discuss this 'predicament' together. Personally, I think she's tired of yelling at me for what I did, so she's going to get Cecile to do it for her…"

"Sounds like something that batty boarder of yours would do. Mind if I swing by to watch?"

"Sure thing, Gerald. Maybe you could also bring Phoebe to possibly calm Lucky down?" Arnold asked hopefully.

"Sorry, man. She's got another ACT prep course this morning. She swears she's finally gonna beat her score of 35."

"It wouldn't surprise me," the blonde teen admitted.

"Well I'd better hope so, otherwise I'm gonna have to be the one to buy her chocolate and tissues if she doesn't get a perfect score," the other boy groused.

"I'm sure it's not that bad, Gerald. See you in a few."

"See ya."

After hanging up the phone, Arnold heard a knock on the front door.

_Plea__se don't be Cecile yet. Please don't be Cecile,_ he pleaded.

"Sid?" he questioned the new arrival.

"Uh, hey Arnold. Is Lucky home?"

"No."

The paranoid boy breathed a sigh of relief and wiped an imaginary drop of sweat off of his forehead.

"Good. Listen, I gotta talk to you about something…"

"Does this have anything to do with last night?"

"Well, yeah."

The Football Head sighed as he led his friend up to his room, not wanting the other boarders to really know what happened the previous night. As he shut the door, he turned to his friend and sighed.

"Look, Sid, I know I should have asked her about allergies-"

"No, not _that_. I'm talking about 'Lucky's Little Secret.'"

"Huh?"

"Don't you see it by now?" he asked. He took a deep breath when his friend shook his head. "Arnold, I think Lucky might be a leprechaun."

The blonde teenager sighed. _Not this again._

"You do realize that you're being ridiculous, right?" he asked, clearly un-amused.

"Doubt me if you want, but I came with back-up!" Sid proclaimed, a maniacal look in his eyes.

"What?" the football headed youth question, very annoyed at this point as his friend held up a book. He squinted to get a closer look at the title. "_How to Tell That Your Girlfriend Is a Leprechaun…_ Come on, Sid! Not this again!"

"I just want to be prepared. I mean, what if she is a mythical creature? How am I supposed to live up to those standards?"

"Lucky is _not_ a leprechaun."

"Yes, she is. This book proves it. She has all the signs; the red hair, the cunning, her wicked awesome nature… literally! Boy howdy, Arnold, face the facts! You are housing a-"

"This doesn't prove anything except that you haven't grown out of your overactive imagination."

"But Arnold-"

"No," the boy said firmly, "I am not helping you with whatever harebrained scheme you came up with to catch Lucky. The _last_ thing she needs is to do is walk into some weird trap that her boyfriend set for her because he thinks that she'll give him a pot of gold that she hides at the end of rainbows."

"It's not like that!" the teen with the backwards cap protested.

"Lucky _likes_ you, Sid. Can't you just leave well enough alone?"

"I'm not going to try and catch her, Arnold! I just need to find a way that it's okay that she _is_ a leprechaun and that I'll still…"

"You'll still what, Sid?" the other boy asked, more curious than annoyed now.

"I'll still… uh… I'll…"

"Just tell me already!"

"I'll still _love_ her, okay?" he finally blurted out in hysteria.

Arnold couldn't figure out what to say as his friend dropped to his knees and sobbed loudly and melodramatically. He stared down at the boy at his feet helplessly.

"Mmm, mmm, mmm! I hate to see a grown boy cry," someone said. Arnold looked up.

"Gerald!" he exclaimed, "Thank goodness you're here. Can you help me with…" he gestured to Sid… "this?"

"Oh boy, what have we here?" the African American teen asked as he surveyed the boy on the ground. He judged that it was just melodrama. "Sid, get up."

In response, the paranoid kid reduced his wails to mere sniffles and brought himself up off of the ground.

"Uh, sorry, Gerald," he apologized weakly and the other two boys rolled their eyes.

"Look, Sid," Arnold addressed him, "If you don't want Lucky to find out about this, you'd better get going. She's supposed to be back pretty soon."

"I guess I'll see you guys later, then," Sid replied with a nod, "Bye, Arnold. See you, Gerald."

The other two teens just stared as their bizarre friend left the room.

"That's was _too_ freaky," Gerald commented, breaking the thick silence, "You mind telling me what that was about?"

Arnold rolled his eyes as he thought about the crazy conversation he had just had.

"He thinks Luck is a leprechaun," he said.

"Then what was with the break down and the water works? Man, that boy has gone _way_ too soft."

"He kind of had a breakdown after telling me that he loved her."

Gerald stared blankly at his friend for a couple of seconds before breaking out into laughter.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" he said through his guffaws, "You mean to tell me that Sid, _our_ Sid, has finally fallen in love with a girl? _And_ he thinks she's character from Irish fables? Man, I'm glad I told you that you shouldn't pay attehntion to his dating crews! "

By this point Arnold had joined in with a few chuckles himself.

"You were right, Gerald. Poor Lucky," he admitted as his laugh gained volume, "being in the middle of, well, _**that!**_"

"Oh, come on, Arnold! You know she's crazy enough to handle it!"

The two boys broke into hysterics. The situation was just too comical.

"Ahem," an annoyed female voice interrupted them.

Their eyes widened as they quickly regained their composure. They sat up and found themselves looking at a _very_ cross Lucky.

"And what, might I ask, had the two of you in fits of hysteria?" she asked. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her eyes were narrowed as she watched the two squirm under her fierce gaze.

"I… uh… I'm…" Arnold gulped. "Nothing?"

It came out as more of a question than an answer.

"Cecile is waiting for you downstairs," she informed him, ignoring his stammered reply, "She insists on speaking with you alone, although I offered to be present in case of any _medical emergencies._" The last two words were clearly referring to the incident the night before.

"Lucky, it was an honest mistake! I'm really sorry about what happened. I didn't know-"

She held out one hand to silence him as she closed her eyes, as if to keep her anger in check.

"Save it, Shortman. You should be telling this to _her._ And seriously, after what you did I wouldn't want to keep her waiting." She opened her eyes and squinted them with fury. "You at least owe her **that** much!"

Arnold nodded quickly as he took to his feet and headed downstairs. Gerald continued to stare at the girl in shock as she uncrossed her arms and her facial features relaxed as soon as their blonde friend was out of sight.

"Geez, that was harder than I thought. Those two are so ridiculous." She smiled and chuckled to herself. Gerald's eyes grew to the size of hockey pucks as a look of confusion overtook his face. Lucky laughed. "What?" she asked innocently. She turned and left the room emitting a slightly maniacal giggle.

The bewildered teen just closed his eyes and shook his head.

_Women…_

H3AA3H

"Cecile?" Arnold asked as he entered the living room cautiously, unsure of what to expect.

"Come on in, Arnold," came the surprisingly sweet, if a little hoarse, reply.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked as he got a good look at her. She was still slightly swollen and her skin was still a bit red with hives, but other than that she looked the same as she always did: beautiful.

She nodded, a slight smile on her face.

"Much better, thanks." A slightly awkward silence enveloped the room. Helga kept flitting her eyes every which way, trying to ignore the elephant between Arnold and herself.

The problem was that the bullying side of her was furious. The stupid Football Head didn't even know Cecile enough to be feeding her by hand, considering how intimate it was! He only proved that by inducing her anaphylactic shock. Helga had only been caught up in moment, hoping that he really liked her.

Yet she was learning that Cecile, although she didn't have the emotional barriers that Helga did, wasn't the real her. It had started out that way, but now the niceness was getting unbearable.

The realization hit during the carried conversation she had just had with Lucky. The intelligent redhead had explained that even though Helga was ready to kill him for putting her in the hospital, she had to see the incident through Cecile's eyes. Cecile would be calm and understanding. She would realize that it was just an honest mistake. She hated that.

Cecile was now nothing more than one more mask for the young teen. There had been the secretive Deep Voice, the brash bully, and now the ever-docile Cecile. She had become the one thing that she loathed the most: a perfect girly-girl.

"Listen, Cecile, I…" Arnold began, unsure of how to begin.

"Yes, Arnold?" she prompted, glad that the unnatural silence was past them.

"I just, uh, wanted to apologize, I guess. I'm really sorry, and I hope I wasn't being too forward. I'd understand if you want to hit me, or yell, or never want to see my face again. It's just that I want you to know that it was an accident. If I had known that you were allergic to strawberries or I never would have tried that, I _swear._"

_You'd better be sorry, Paste for Brains!_ she wanted to scream, _You put me, a girl you __**hardly**__ know in the hospital, for crying out loud! If it had been the real me, you would have already known what strawberries do to me. Why are you so __**dense?**_

But she held her tongue. Those were Helga words, not Cecile ones.

"It's alright. No hard done," she said quietly, regretting every word coming out of her mouth.

"Wait, what?"

"I'm not mad at you, Arnold. It was an honest mistake, really, and I really should have been paying more attention." The words came easily now. It was as if she was taking over for a character in a play. This was improv. "I guess it was just one of those freak accidents, you know?"

"I guess," Arnold replied, confused and secretly disappointed. Why wasn't she yelling? And why did he wish that she would?

"I just wanted to let you know that everything is fine, okay? Lucky just said that you might want to know you have my forgiveness, although I personally think you didn't do anything wrong."

Her smile was fake. _Lie, lie, lie…_

"Thanks."

"Well, if that's all you want, I'm afraid I must get going. I'm still a bit worn out from this whole… thing."

"Oh, okay."

He led her to the front door and the two embraced before parting. Shutting the door behind his almost-girlfriend, he gave a sigh of frustration.

No sane person would have let such a thing go so easily. It was as if Cecile wasn't really a person. She was just a pretty girl with a pretty face and bubble-brained happiness. He had almost _killed_ her, for crying out loud!

Helga, he knew, would have been furious. Then again, he wouldn't have been stupid enough to feed the Pink Thunder that forbidden fruit in the first place. The poor teen had no idea that strawberry allergies were so common. That still didn't override, however, the slight disappointment in her forgiving attitude. He wanted to have to work for forgiveness, to show that he truly cared about the other person's approval. The truth was, he wanted a _real_ girl. Someone who knew him and accepted his faults, yet still had an inner fire that burned those who disagreed with her yet warmed those he loved. He was tired of feeling like he had to walk on eggshells around everyone. The teenager needed someone he could be real to, and someone that would be real to him in return.

Someone like Helga.

"It wasn't real," he said aloud, still shocked at Cecile's apathy toward her near-death experience, "Even Lucky was angry with me." Still contemplating this twist of events, he walked dazedly toward the stairwell and headed up to his room.

Meanwhile, a certain girl emerged from behind a potted plant in the entryway.

_Well, well, well, _Lucky thought, _my scheme is finally panning out…_

Arnold was, at long last, getting a clue.

* * *

><p><strong>It's finally DONE! :D Yay! I'll get started on the next one tomorrow, I PROMISE! I'm not sure when it'll be done though... :'(<strong>

**Anyways, the whole strawberry idea was actually Nep2uune's, and I love how it fit in with the story! It actually made the events progress a LOT faster, so thanks Nep2uune! **

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know how you felt in a _REVIEW_ please! :D**

**See you soon, hopefully...**

-NerdilyNi


	14. Lucky in LOVE!

**A/N: DON'T SHOOT! IT'S JUST ME! I SWEAR!**

**Hehe... time flies when you're having fun, right?  
><strong>

**I'm really, REALLY sorry for this nearly-eight-months late post. I'm just going to blame this one on Lucky. She was being a total brat! I was _trying_ to write something, but she wasn't giving me anything good. She introduced me to her family awhile ago, but she only told me _yesterday_ why she was sent to Hillwood, and then suddenly everything made sense! Lucky also told me what her talent that got her accepted into the Academy was. I promise to tell you all soon!  
><strong>

**Thank you all so much for being patient with me, and I swear that I'll do better! This chapter may seem like it has a lot of filler crud, but part of it was because I was trying to get over that stupid writer's block. It was BAD. But I'm back now! Ta-da!  
><strong>

**Then again, I wasn't able to write a lot due to my birthday, not getting my laptop fixed, getting accepted into a college (it's in the top 20 in the U.S.!), getting a full-time summer job, me graduating, my brother getting married, my sister's boyfriend breaking her heart, etc... A lot has happened. BUT, I have a new, awesome laptop for college, and that means I can write more!  
><strong>

**Anywho, I think I've talked your ears off long enough (or is it written your eyeballs out? Whatevs.) so without further ado, here is Lucky Shot, Chapter 14: Lucky in LOVE! :D Oh, and please read the A/N at the end!  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer: Lied to you about the no further ado, huh? Please don't be mad. I'm just telling you that I don't own anything except for Lucky... If you want to use her for something, just ask and give me credit, okay? Thanks! Everything else belongs to Craig Bartlett and such.<br>**

* * *

><p>The clear, crisp air stung the lungs of many a pedestrian, but Phoebe couldn't help but feel a bit peaceful because of the biting breeze. It was as if all of the dead things in the world were just resting, perhaps because all of nature had decided to join in on a long rest. It was one of the reasons why winter was her favorite season.<p>

It was hard for her to believe that the first semester of her senior year was almost over. There were only about two and a half days of school left until winter break! Soon all of her hard work was going to pay off, she just knew it. Her college applications had been ready for months and she was still making sure they were _perfect_, they **had** to be. Phoebe had decided against early decision, as she knew that she'd want to multiple places in order to ensure that she would be able to get the best education her grades could afford. This is what it all came down to.

Helga didn't quite understand the predicament she was in. Phoebe knew her friend was creative and athletic, two attributes the Asian American sometimes feared that she lacked. Helga would get into a great state school _easily_ with her grades, but Phoebe had to strive to find a way to stand out from the rest of the academic crowd. In the end she realized that her scores only displayed her as a number instead of a person. What if the number wasn't high enough?

It was an issue she felt entirely alone in. Lucky was the only person who could remotely understand, but the redhead always managed to stand out from the rest, especially with her "special talents." It wasn't exactly common knowledge, but she knew that Lucky was quite the hacker when she wanted to be.

Phoebe sighed as she stared at the front door of the Pataki residence. _Nature may rest, but I never can,_ she thought silently to herself. With one more sharp intake of air, she knocked on the front door.

"Whaddya want?" a gruff voice welcomed her. This would normally be off-putting for most teenagers, but Phoebe was very used to Helga's dad's behavior.

"Hello, Mr. Pataki. I'm here to see Helga, sir," she informed him.

"Eh? Oh, right. Helga. Well, she's upstairs with some little redheaded girl. You can let yourself up." With that, Big Bob removed himself from the doorway to get back to his television programs.

Phoebe smiled a sad smile. _Well I guess everyone has their own problem,_ she thought as she entered the Pataki household.

She beheld a very different sight from the one of Bob Pataki once she stepped foot in Helga's room. All around the room were little bits and pieces of what seemed like legos, beading supplies, wires, and little computer parts. Diagrams were taped up to the walls along with what appeared to be designs of some sort. In the midst of all of the chaos were Phoebe's two best friends, Helga and Lucky.

"Yo, Pheebalicious!" Lucky exclaimed when she noticed the rooms newest entrant, "How's life treatin' ya? Helga and I have a _great _new project we're working on!"

"Project? I'm afraid I don't under-"

"Relax, Pheebs. Arnold went out of town with his grandparents to visit his Aunt Mitzi today, so we're home free. Come on, take a load off and check this out!"

Helga pulled her onto the bed while Lucky tinkered with something and held it up in front of Phoebe's face.

"Da da dada! Presenting Lucky Charms, the newest and most interesting custom jewelry making business EVER," Lucky announced proudly while waving the trinket in the air. It appeared to be a little heart fastened out of... was that a computer chip and some beads?

"Oh my," Pheobe breathed. There was something a little, well, _inspiring_ about it, "How did you do this?"

"Many years of arts and crafts on my part, and a bit of engineering on Lucky's," Helga told her, "Actually it was her idea."

"Yep! The whole 'Cecile thing' has kind of come to a stand-still since the strawberry incident, so I felt like I needed something new to obsess about... like starting a new business!"

Phoebe just looked confusedly at the other girls.

"Criminy, Pheebs! It's not that difficult. Lucky got another crazy idea and I went along with it for once." Helga shrugged non-commitedly.

"Excuse me, _'for __**once?!'"**_ Lucky demanded, "Need I remind you, Miss _Cecile_, about your current predicament concerning your long-time beloved?"

"Aw, pipe down before I change my mind about this whole thing."

Lucky stuck out her tongue good-naturedly, sure that Helga wasn't going to back out. "Killjoy." Turning back to Phoebe, she added, "Anyways, Helga's working on some designs for the charms and when she's done we can all three make them. I'm working out the technical stuff, like getting some of the more complex jewelry to twinkle or play a song or something and, of course, designing a webpage where people can order our stuff. You know how much I love writing code." She gave a wink to her dark-haired friend.

"The little hacker," Helga sniped.

"Oh, come on! You put purple hair-dye in my shampoo! Of course I change your HillBook profile picture to you

"You also gave me a virus that sent out my poems about ARNOLD to other people!"

"That was just a scare and you know it. Phoebe was the only one who received them."

"Oh for Pete's sake! Why are you so annoying?"

"Being normal is for squares," Lucky retorted with a roll of her eyes, "So anyways, as I was saying, we have the production manager and the technology department, but we still don't have a business manager. You in?"

"Business manager? Why?" she asked.

"Because let's face it, you're the best when it comes to things like math and figuring out demographics. I'm only good for building and programming computers and Helga's strengths lie in the fine arts. That's not mentioning the fact that your people skills exceed ours by nearly a thousand percent. So what do you say?"

"I-I'm not so sure," Phoebe answered tentatively.

"_And_ having started a business might not hurt on your college applications, you know. It shows that you can take initiative," Lucky reminded her, "Oh, and I convinced Helga to let us donate some of our profits to families who have a sick parent, so we'd definitely be doing something noteworthy."

That did it.

The wheels in Phoebe's head began turning, and she couldn't help but imagine what it would be like if the business took off. If properly handled, their little idea could earn them some serious cash, not to mention the fact that by doing so they would be doing some good in the world, and she _was_ looking for a way to impress the colleges...

"You can count on me," she told her friends decidedly.

Lucky clapped her hands and squealed. "Oh thank you, Phoebe, thank you! I'm so excited, you have no idea. So let's talk prices."

The girls began following more of Helga's designs as Helga dreamed up more, and Lucky showed them the website and improved on it based on their feedback. Phoebe determined who was likely to buy what and figure out prices to the point where they would get a decent amount of profit, and then they all started researching charities for their cause. Soon enough, though, things had wound down and the three of them had managed to slip into casual conversation.

"Aright, you chuckleheads, I get it, you're **so** smart," Helga sarcastically snarked as Phoebe told a nerdy joke, "But seriously, can't we talk about something _I_ know?"

"Sorry Helga," Phoebe apologized whilst trying to stifle her giggles, "I guess I got a little carried away."

"But hey, you've got to admit it was pretty funny," Lucky cut in.

Helga glared at her. "Maybe to those of you who could _understand _it."

Phoebe rolled her eyes. She knew perfectly well that Helga had the capability to be smarter than her and Lucky combined if she just set her mind to it. Secretly, however, she was glad that the blonde had her heart set elsewhere.

"Oh man, Arnold's going to be back soon!" Lucky cried as she looked at her watch, "I can't risk him seeing me leave your house!"

"Relax already, would you?" Helga commented in a bored tone, "It's been _ages_ since the three of us hung out together without talking about the Cecile plan. Can't we just enjoy it for a while before you have to go worrying about it again? Criminy, I think you're more obsessed with me dating the guy than even I am, and _I've_ been practically stalking him since preschool!"

Lucky bit her lip. She knew that it was odd how much she was involved in Helga and Arnold's dating life, but she couldn't help it. She needed to be working towards something, needed to be distracted. Heck, her parents sent her here to distract her. She knew it, too.

_Just keep your mind off of everything_, she told herself, _that's what they told you. Focus on school. Focus on friends. Focus on everything except-_

"Lucky, hello? Earth to Clover girl!" Helga shouted as she waved her hand in front of Lucky's face, "For Pete's sake, would it kill you to relax? Look, if it means _that_ much to you, go ahead and scamper back to the boarding house. We'll take it from here."

"Thanks Helga! You're the best!" Lucky exclaimed hugging both her and Phoebe, "I'll see you guys later, okay? Bye!"

With that she took off to the place that, in just under four months, she called home.

*~*HA!*~*

Arnold's visit with Aunt Mitzi hadn't gone well.

Oh, sure, it had started out fine, and it was nice to see Grandma getting along with her best friend, but the inevitable fights with Grandpa had proved to be too much. They barely got through lunch without an all-out war being started between the two siblings.

Arnold shook his head. He would never understand sibling rivalry.

Thinking of siblings, however, reminded him of Lucky. What were her siblings like? Were they out there and random like her? Or did they think of _her_ as odd? It puzzled him that he knew so much about the girl who he had come to care about as a sister, but that he knew nothing of her biological family.

He shook his head. Lucky would probably just laugh and tell him he was over-thinking it.

Nevertheless, he found himself back at the boarding house several hours earlier than expected when Grandpa had finally tired of Mitzi's pranks. What baffled him, however, was the fact that Lucky was nowhere to be found.

"Hey Grandma, do you know where Lucky is?" he asked curiously. Sure, Lucky could have been out with Sid or at one of her friends' houses, but why hadn't she told him about it? She normally couldn't wait to tell him all about her "exciting upcoming plans." Just thinking about the way she would gush to him made him smirk. She seemed to pour everything she was into the simple everyday things she did.

"Oh, she's probably just out helping Eleanor," Gertie replied with a smile, "Leprechaun's been helping her with her public image, you know. Why, there's more pink in her wardrobe than ever! And I just love what she's done with the First Lady's hair!"

"Eleanor? Who's that?"

"Oh, pay no mind to her, Shortman. She's crazy!" Phil told his grandson, "She's just talking about that makeover Lucky gave your little girlfriend. You know, the one with the pink bow and the one eyebrow."

"What?" Arnold questioned, genuinely confused, "Grandpa, what are you talking about? Cecile doesn't have a unibrow, that's Helga."

"Well, Shortman-"

"Heya everybody!" Lucky announced as she burst into the kitchen. She had overheard the conversation from the front corridor, and, needless to say, she did not like where it was headed. She really needed to clue Phil and Gertie in on the whole plan later. "I must admit that I'm quite surprised to see that you have returned so soon. Did everything go well at Aunt Mitzi's?"

"Define 'well,'" Arnold asked jokingly.

"Ah, that bad? I'm sorry to hear that. What happened?"

"Mitzi is a flame-retardant she-devil, that's what!" Phil exclaimed loudly. Lucky just gave Arnold a dry look.

"Sibling rivalry?" she asked.

"Sibling rivalry," he confirmed.

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat," Lucky told them all, "but I'm afraid that there is quite a stack of homework waiting for me, and I'd like to get it out of the way before my date tomorrow with Sid so… see ya!"

She took off up the stairs, trying desperately to avoid any questions pertaining to her whereabouts.

"Hey, Lucky, wait!"

She froze at the sound of Arnold's voice. Darn it! Wasn't she supposed to be lucky? In any case, she turned around with a smile.

"Yes?" she asked politely.

"Where were you today?"

"I was just, uh, out with some friends."

"Really? With who?"

"People from school, Arnold, duh!" she snapped defensively, "Why does the matter even concern you? For your information, _Shortman,_ I have _plenty_ of friends that I could choose to spend the day with. Get off my case, would you?!" With that she stomped off to her room indignantly.

Arnold sighed, frustrated before realizing a frightening thought. At times, Lucky reminded him a lot of Helga.

*~*HA*~*

Because he didn't see her the rest of Saturday night, Arnold was surprised to be awoken by a frantic Lucky early Sunday morning.

"Arnold! You've gotta help me!" she exclaimed as she squirted him with a small toy water gun. Where did she get that? _Probably Grandma,_ he decided as he rubbed the water off of his face.

"Lucky, have you ever heard of something called knocking?" he asked dryly.

"Yeah yeah, privacy rules and all that schnazzy jazz, THIS IS IMPORTANT!"

Sighing and realizing that he would be able to sleep until he helped her, Arnold sat up.

"What is it?"

"I LOST MY SHOE!"

"…Are you kidding me?" Even though he tried to be caring towards everyone and solve all of the problems he could, Arnold felt that it kind of crossed a line when he was rudely awakened by a crazy girl just for the sake of finding her shoe.

"Arnold!" she whined, "This is important! I'm supposed to go with Sid to meet his parents for breakfast today and I CAN'T FIND THE RIGHT SHOE!"

"So at least we know you're looking for a right shoe."

"No, I'm looking for the left one."

"Wait, so you _can_ find the right shoe?"

"NO! I have the right right shoe, but I'm missing the left right shoe," she explained.

"Uuuuuh… what?"

Lucky let out an exasperated sigh. "Forget it, Shortman! I'll just have to change my entire outfit so I can wear my OTHER shoes. Thank you SO much!" Her voice was laced with sarcasm a d anger as she stomped out of the room.

"You're… welcome?" Arnold replied to the thin air as he set back in his bed to get back to sleep.

*~*HA!*~*

Sid gaped in awe at his girlfriend as she appeared in a vibrant green sweater-dress. Adorning her feet were light green ballet flats with golden bows on them. The poor boy could hardly form a coherent thought. Lucky was just so… beautiful to him. He hated the fact that he could never find a better word to describe how she looked to him as well as how much he acted like a bumbling romantic idiot around her. Where was that cool guy persona that he had spent years perfecting? Around her it was gone in an instant, as if he had never progressed from how he acted in grade school, always nervous and paranoid. Around her, however, he feel as if he didn't have to put on the mask of a player. He could just be Sid, in all of his awkward wonder, and she would just accept him. It was one of the many things he loved about her.

He wondered briefly what Lucky must have been like when she was little. Did she get along with the other kids? Perhaps. Sid couldn't be entirely sure, especially because of her eccentric streak. Even he, the one who thought the best of Lucky, couldn't deny that at times his girlfriend was rather… random, to say the least. Love didn't make him blind to her faults, however few he thought she had.

"Sid, you okay?" she asked timidly when he continued to stare.

"Oh, hm? Oh right, right. Hey Lucky!" he greeted her enthusiastically, earning a giggle from her.

"Hi. So, shall we went?"

"Of course. You sure you want to do this?" Sid was more than a little concerned about how Lucky would react to his parents. The redhead simply rolled her eyes at him as she put on her jacket.

"Duh. Come on! They can't be worse than my siblings."

As she laced her arm through Sid's, a thought suddenly struck him.

"Lucky, when can I meet your family? You hardly ever talk about them," he pointed out.

Lucky smiled nervously and stuttered out a bashful reply.

"R-really? Huh… m-must be just, uh… just not s-seeing them all the time, is all… I, um, I'll tell you more about them later, okay? Now let's get a move on! Don't want to keep your parents waiting!" she insisted as she pulled him out the front door.

Sid found this rather odd for a moment before shrugging it off. Perhaps she was worried about what he'd think of her leprechaun family. Or did leprechauns even have families? If they didn't, then that would definitely explain the lack of details.

The walk to the restaurant was pretty uneventful aside from Lucky's encounter with the neighborhood hobo.

"I just wanted to know what his favorite musical was!" she had protested when he pulled her away from the gruff-looking man.

Nevertheless, they reached the corner-diner before Sid was fully mentally prepared. He wasn't really concerned of what his parents thought of her. After all, his mother was just glad that he was _actually_ introducing a girl to her and his father, who knew more of his dating exploits, was happy to see that his son was maturing and able to settle down into a relationship like the honorable man he had hoped Sid would be.

No, what mattered was what _she_ thought of them. She had obviously grown up, assuming leprechauns did grow up that is, in a different, probably more _exciting,_ environment. How would she react to two such _normal_ people like Mr. and Mrs. Gifaldi?

He didn't have time to wonder much more, however, as he realized that they had reached his parents table.

"Hey Mom, Dad," he began with a gesture to his girlfriend. _Please don't embarrass me, guys,_ he prayed silently. "This is my girlfriend, Lucky."

"It is a true pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Gifaldi," the redhead told them with a small curtsey. Mrs. Gifaldi clasped her hands together at the adorable gesture and Mr. Gifaldi grinned at the sight. He had secretly been fearing that his son would bring home one of those girl's that he was accustomed to dating, which definitely would have caused his poor mother some grief. The man was actually quite surprised that the girl seemed so bright and child-like. Much more innocent than even teenage girls were in his day, that was for sure.

"The pleasure is all ours, Lucky. Please, you two, have a seat," he told the couple with a smile.

Lucky beamed at the clear acceptance and slid into the booth, closely followed by Sid, who breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was panning out exactly as he'd hoped.

*~*HA!*~*

Arnold groaned as the light hit his eyes. How was it possible for it to be so bright outside when it was so cold? The world just seemed to hate him today.

The poor football head had tried for about half an hour after Lucky had awoken him, rudely he might add, to get back to sleep but to no avail. After dressing himself properly, he had decided to visit Mighty Pete. He hadn't been up to the old tree house in about two years, but it had always been a place where he could go to think when the boardinghouse got too crazy or when the world just didn't make sense in general. It was calming and peaceful up there, and often full of life as the children played in it. However the cold appeared to have scared many of the younger ones off, seeing as the house looked pretty vacant as Arnold began to climb up its ladder.

Unfortunately, it wasn't as vacant as he could have hoped.

"'Sup, Football Head?" He heard the words before he had even fully entered the house.

"Helga, what are you doing here?"

"Eh, Olga is coming in today, and I doubt I'll be missed at the welcome party."

It wasn't spoken as bitterly as it once would have been. Over the years, Helga had graciously accepted the fact that she would never be as brilliant or talented in her parents' eyes as Olga was, but that was okay. After winning a few poetry awards, the blonde writer realized that the praise her parents gave her didn't really live up to the hype. Sure, it got their attention, but it wasn't like Bob or Miriam every actually _bothered_ to read the poems she had written or tried to get to know her. They simply pressured her into trying to win more awards after the glamour of the new award had worn off. Helga knew that somewhere deep within themselves her parents loved her, but she didn't need the constant attention to know that. Olga did, and that's what motivated her to try and be as perfect as possible. It was exhausting, Helga knew, and she didn't want to live like that. She had realized that she was stronger than that.

"Oh," was all Arnold could say as he sat down beside her.

"Yeah, watching Bob and Miriam trip over themselves to fawn over Olga isn't exactly my idea of a good time. Been there, done that, you know?" Helga chuckled a bit at the thought before turning to face Arnold fully. "So, what're you in for, bucko?"

"Just thinking about things," he replied quietly.

"What kind of things?" Helga prodded. After receiving no response for a few minutes she continued, "Come on, Arnoldo, I may be mean and scary, but I've got time to spare to listen to whatever sob story you've got cooked up, alright? I mean, no one's around, so I might be able to lend an ear just this once." She gave him a wink and a nudge, and Arnold was oddly comforted by the gesture.

It was strange how easy it had always been for him to open up to Helga. Yet even though she was rude, hostile and hard, she also knew him better than another other girl did, even Lucky. She had been the first one in the fourth grade, and possibly the only one who didn't find him pathetic for it, to understand his situation with Lila. She knew how hurt he had been when he found out about Summer scamming him and had helped him through pretty much every heartbreak since. Helga seemed to know by instinct how he felt during that fifth day of October every year and never once insulted him about the fact that he lived with a bunch of crazy people. If anything, she always complimented him on it, telling him that at least they cared about him.

Arnold mentally shrugged his shoulders. If Helga could help him understand his other romantic messes, why not the one with Cecile? Of course, he had to go about this carefully. After all, she was kind of mixed in with it. He took a deep breath before beginning.

"Have you ever, I don't know, felt like someone was just being _too_ nice?" Arnold asked. Helga rolled her eyes, remembering Lila way back in the fourth grade, after they had just met.

"Believe me, I have," she assured him.

"Well, I'm just not sure this person is for real, you know? And then there's this other person who may not be the nicest, but just seems to be… I dunno, more honest, I guess," he explained. Helga simply looked at him with a raised brow.

"Does this story seem to have a point, Football Head?"

He sighed. It was frustrating, not being able to reveal everything in the conversation. Perhaps he should have just consulted his grandpa or something. Oh well, it was too late now.

"Well, uh, I was, um… invited to two different holiday parties! Yeah, that's it! And they're on the same day, and one of them is Rhonda's. I know that if I go there I'd be able to have a fun time without worrying about things like alcohol since her parents installed those security cameras, but she'd probably say rude things to all of the guests again or try and set me up with someone if I don't have a date… you know, things like that…"

It was a lame excuse, but he prayed that she would take the bait.

"Okay…" Helga appeared to be encouraging him to continue while at the same time letting him know that she wasn't entirely convinced.

"Anyways, this other guy in my history class who invited me to _his_ party says that no one will get made fun of, everyone will relax and just have a good time, but I don't know him well enough to know if there would be anything there that would… um… go against my morals or anything. What should I do?"

"You sure this is what you want to go with, Arnoldo?" Helga asked him.

"Uh… yes?"

The blonde girl rolled her eyes. Arnold really was a bad liar, but she didn't have a clue as to what he was talking about.

The football headed boy, however, knew that even though she didn't believe him, she was going to try and help him. Helga always managed to call people out when she knew they were lying, but she'd also try to give them the benefit of the doubt when it suited her. She didn't try to hide behind a façade of fake niceties just to please someone else. Helga was real. She was raw. Even before she gave him her answer, he knew what he had to do.

"Criminy Arnold, just go to Rhonda's party! You've known her longer, you trust her, and you know that her party is going to be fun despite her royally painful attitude." She rolled her eyes, remembering Rhonda's snippiness. "You don't really know this other guy and, knowing our peers, it probably isn't up to your 'moral standards.' Then again, Mother Theresa barely makes the cut when you put it that way. Just tell the guy you're not interested in what his version of 'fun' might be. Besides, as an added incentive, I'll be at Rhonda's party."

He smiled at her warmly as he watched her face that was upturned in a smirk. Not in the same devious smirk that Lucky always got, but that true Helga Pataki smirk that told everyone around her that she had attitude and wasn't afraid to use it. It was the smirk that could win battles based on its sheer confidence. He loved that smirk.

Helga stood to move.

"Well let me tell ya, Arnoldo, it's been a real slice. Unfortunately for you, I've gotta run. Olga's bound to notice if I'm not home, even if Bob and Miriam don't. See ya in the funny papers, bucko!"

With that she descended the tree house ladder, leaving Arnold with his conclusion.

He had to dump Cecile.

It was unavoidable. He simply couldn't do their relationship anymore, even though they weren't really in a real relationship in the first place. Cecile was nice, but Arnold didn't know her. He didn't know one real thing about her, really, just that she was a nice and pretty face.

Helga, however… wow. She was bossy and rude, yet the most honest person Arnold knew. She was unafraid to show who she really was, and he had to admire that. Sure, she may be a bit rough around the edges, but so were gems when one first tried to mine them. If Helga was anything, she was truly a gem.

Arnold closed his eyes reluctantly, finally accepting the fact that had been staring him in the face for so long.

He was in love with Helga.

*~*HA!*~*

"So, who's your favorite literary character of all time?" Lucky asked. She and Sid were taking a long walk together back to the boarding house after having breakfast with his parents. The meal had gone swimmingly, and Lucky had been promptly invited to spend Christmas Eve with them, an invitation she accepted with great enthusiasm. Sid had, once again, been worried for nothing.

"Uh, the Cat in the Hat," he answered, unsure of himself. Why were her questions so… random? "What about yours?"

"Sydney Carton from a Tale of Two Cities," she admitted without missing a beat.

"Who?"

"Oh, he was this Englishman at the time of the French Revolution. You see, he was a drunkard and kind of frowned upon, but he and this French guy who looked exactly like him, Charles Darnay, were both in love with this same French girl, Lucy. Naturally, Lucy marries Charles, but Sydney, knowing that he was nowhere near good enough for her, promises that he would do anything to ensure her happiness. Anyways, it turned out that Charles was actually French nobility, so those who started the Revolution took him in, imprisoned him, and planned on executing him. Sydney, however, knew that Lucy would never be happy without Charles, and so he coordinates a plan where he and Charles switch places, and he dies in Charles' place while Lucy, Charles, and the rest of their family escape back to England. He's a remarkable character, don't you think?"

Sid just blinked his eyes at the girl before him, unsure of what to say. Lucky, however, laughed at his speechlessness.

"You know what else?" she asked him with a giggle.

"What?"

Here she leaned in close to his ear, as if to whisper an important secret. Sid could hear the blood pumping in his head as her breath tickled his earlobe.

"He gets bonus points," she whispered, "for being named Sydney."

He pulled back to stare at her, causing her to laugh again. Goodness, he loved that laugh, but why did she have to confuse him so?

"Boy howdy, why do you leprechauns have to be so wicked confusing?" he muttered. His comment, however, did not escape the ears of the girl beside him.

"What did you say?" she asked, stifling a giggle.

"Huh? Oh, nothing! I said nothing!" Sid assured her, yet his attempts of denial were in vain.

"You called me a leprechaun!" she exclaimed and pointed at him much like a child would, "I heard you!"

"S-so?"

"That's Pookie's word, silly. I'm not a leprechaun, and it seems a bit odd for my _boyfriend_ to call me one!" Lucky giggled a bit at the absurd thought.

Sid froze. Did she just say she _wasn't_ a leprechaun?

"Wait," he began to clarify, "so you're _not_ a leprechaun?"

Lucky got a confused look on her face. "What?"

"You said that you're not a leprechaun."

"Of course I'm not. What on earth would give you that idea?" she asked.

Sid wasn't sure where to begin. The Irish looks, the four-leaf-clovers, the short height, wearing green, the odd behavior… was that really all a coincidence?

"I-uh, um, w-well, hehe, boy howdy…" Sid was floundering for an explanation. How could he tell her that he thought her to be a mythical creature of mischief? Luckily, he was spared from having to clarify everything with her as he realized that she was laughing. Hard. At him.

"What's so funny?" he demanded, a little peeved. It was an honest mistake, really. Why was she laughing?

"Sid, don't feel bad, okay?" she began, her grin still firmly intact and her jovial attitude evident in her voice, "It's just… too funny! You do realize that all leprechaun's are male, right?"

"WHAT?!" So obviously his book had been a lie… stupid con-artist writers. Lucky's guffaws returned full force at his reaction.

"Oh, Sid!" she exclaimed, her eyes tearing up from all of her laughter, "Let me tell you, it's great to know someone who has extravagant ideas like me!"

Now Sid was just confused. "What do you mean?"

Lucky sobered up a little before responding. "Sid, I'm used to always being the weird one, the one with the odd ideas, but with you, I feel like I can be myself because sometimes, you do the same thing. Sure, you try to hide it under a 'tough guy' persona, but underneath it all you really just have the imagination of a child." She smiled kindly at her boyfriend. "It's one of the reasons why I love you."

Sid stopped walking, and, once she noticed, Lucky turned to face him, her face contorted with confusion.

"What's the matter?" she asked, concerned.

"You… you love me?"

Lucky giggled at him. "Of course, I do, silly." Then her face fell, her smile turning to a small frown. "Why? Is that a problem?"

"No!" he blurted out quickly, as he rushed to her and embraced her, effectively shocking the girl. She looked up at him with wide brown eyes.

"Then what is it?" she whispered, worried about ruining the moment.

"Lucky, I… I love you, too."

She smiled again, this time a softer smile that he hadn't really seen before. It was quiet, soft, and intimate, like it was a special smile, just for him. At thought crossed his mind and he swallowed hard, uncertain of himself.

"Lucky," he began in a breathless whisper, "can I kiss you now?"

As a response, she rose up on her tiptoes and her lips touched his. It was quick and it was chaste, but it was perfect all the same.

"Yes," she whispered back.

It definitely wasn't Sid's first kiss, but he realized then what he had been missing in those other kisses. The wait was definitely worth it, because he knew what it meant. This kiss meant that this girl, this _amazing_, wonderful girl, was his and, more importantly, he was hers.

He never wanted to be anything else.

*~*HA!*~*

Phil was the one who had the pleasure to surprise Lucky as she entered the Sunset Arms.

"Hiya Phil!" she greeted him with a twirl of delight, "Isn't today just wonderful?"

After walking her to the front door of the boarding house, Sid had given her a second kiss. This time it was a kiss good-bye and it was rather chaste, but Lucky knew it held the promise that he would see her again soon. She was on cloud nine.

"Hehe, well if it isn't little Lucky! Just the person I was waiting for!" Phil greeted her. She took one of his hands and he held it above her as she spun around yet again. "Say, what's got you in such a great mood?"

"Hm? Oh, nothing, nothing. It's just a spectacular, magnificent day."

Phil rolled his eyes good-naturedly. He knew that Lucky had been on a date this morning, so he knew that her good mood was probably linked to that. He reminded himself to "check-up" on Sid the next time he was over. He didn't want the boy to get too comfortable now.

The old man's mind drifted back to the present, however, and he remembered that he had a very special surprise for Lucky.

"Well, kiddo, your day is about to get better!" he announced with pride.

"Really? How?"

"There's a surprise waiting for you in the kitchen," Phil replied with a wink. Lucky gave him a confused look as she opened the kitchen door. After seeing who was in the kitchen, however, she was frozen solid.

She couldn't believe that _they_ of all people were here, the ones that could blow her, and effectively Helga's and Phoebe's, cover. There was only one thing that Lucky knew for certain.

Things were about to get complicated.

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><p><strong>AN: Thank you all so much for bearing with me! As a result of your patience/an apology from me, I am going to try and write oneshot requests from anyone. This means that you can tell me what you want it to be about, what characters should be in it, any additional details, whatever. Any ones including Lucky or in the Lucky-verse will fall under the story "Lucky One Shots," however I will also accept others unrelated to this story. You may also choose the rating it should be, but only up to T. I am not comfortable writing M stories, sorry! **

**So if you want a oneshot (I will credit you for suggesting it!) just post what you want in your review or send me a PM. You guys are awesome, and I'm really sorry for not posting sooner.  
><strong>

**Thanks for everything! Also, if you hated this chapter or want to see something better or even if you liked something, send me a REVIEW to let me know! ;)  
><strong>

**-NerdilyNi  
><strong>


	15. Out of Luck

**A/N: **Well, uh... this is awkward.

In case you were wondering, I'm not dead! Huzzah! And apparently neither is this story. After I haven't updated for... two... years...

I'm a slug.

I honestly do have another chapter coming up. This story has about two or three more chapters to go, and I'll try to get them out faster than this one!

The writer's block was ridiculously strong with this, but I finally decided "screw it" after my OCs ran rampant and wouldn't shut up. So... sorry if you hate OCs. Although I kind of love these characters. *shrugs*

Anyway, I love you all! Please don't hate me for taking so long with this. This chapter is a bit of a doozy: over 10,000 words in and of itself. That's got to count for something, right?

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I own nothing but the Stevenson family including, but not limited to: Parker, Cora, Nereus, Margie, Trix, and, of course, Lucky! Everything else belongs to other people. Idk who anymore.

* * *

><p>Helga's head was still spinning from her talk with Arnold; after all it wasn't every day that she had a cordial conversation with him <em>as <em>herself. She was on cloud nine, reveling in the fact that she hadn't completely messed it up. It was an amazing first step in her book.

A thunderclap sounded from her pocket signaling that she had received a text message and jolting her out of her thoughts. She flipped open her phone to a text from Lucky.

_Code Red. Need Cecile at Shortman's place ASAP. Not a drill._

Helga groaned. Of _course_ that little freak would need her right now. She quickly typed back.

_Fine, be there soon. Mood ruiner._

She began getting ready, pausing when her phone went off again. It was another text from Lucky.

_Sorry._

That worried Helga Normally Lucky would shoot back with some retort like, "Suck it up, Pataki," or some other jesting comment. But "sorry"? That kind of treatment was usually reserved for Phoebe, not the harder, brasher Helga.

====HA!HA!HA!====

_SOS Sunset Arms. Code Red. Please help._

Phoebe looked once again at the text on her phone wondering why Lucky had called her here. She knew that the redhead had a date with Sid that morning. Had something bad happened there? Did she mess something up on a college application? The same thing had happened a few weeks ago, and Phoebe had to talk Lucky into calming down and calling the college's admissions office to resolve it. Lucky might be intellectually gifted like Phoebe but wasn't nearly as sensible when it came to her own personal problems.

The partially Asian girl braced herself and raised her hand to knock on the door of the boarding house. Before it had a chance to connect, however, the door was opened and Phoebe was pulled inside as it shut behind her.

"Oh, this is bad. Bad, bad, bad!" It took Phoebe a moment to realize that it was Lucky pacing back and forth in front of her. "Oh, why now? Helga's going to kill me," the redhead continued.

"Lucky, I'm afraid that I can't help you if you don't calm down," Phoebe tried to reason with her, "Now what's going on?"

"I can't _believe_ that they didn't tell me they were coming!" Lucky ranted, "Oh wait, yes I can! Why didn't I see this coming? Of all the things to go wrong!"

"_What_ is wrong?" Phoebe tried again.

They were interrupted by a knock at the door. Lucky closed her eyes and hissed, as if in pain.

"Crap," she stated simply.

Seeing as her friend was going through some sort of mental breakdown again, Phoebe took it upon herself to open the door. Upon seeing Helga in her "Cecile" garb, her mouth formed a small o.

"Oh, um, Cecile," she greeted her friend, "What a surprise."

"Lucky invited me," "Cecile" explained. Both girls turned toward their ginger friend.

"Lucky," Phoebe said slowly, "Why are we here?"

Lucky took a deep breath in order to answer her, but before the redhead could speak, a girl who looked to be in her younger teens with brown, wavy hair stepped out of the kitchen. She was a little bit taller than Lucky and wore a yellow t-shirt with the phrase "Hi." written on it with plain blue jeans. On her face was a look of boredom mixed with a light twinge of annoyance.

"Margie's at it again," the girl told Lucky, her voice low and monotone.

"Margie," Phoebe repeated slowly, "Lucky, isn't that the name of one of your sisters?"

"Criminy, Clover Girl!" Helga exclaimed as she caught on, "You mean to tell me-"

Lucky cut her off with a nod.

"Doth my ears deceive me?" a feminine voice called from the kitchen as a head poked out of the door, "or did someone say my name?"

Phoebe and Helga turned to see a bright and beautiful freckled face framed by vibrant red hair.

"Yes, you were mentioned," the brunette confirmed in a disinterested manner.

"Oh, lovely!" the girl exclaimed as she clapped her hands and fully entered the entryway. She made her way to the center of the group of girls before striking a pose.

This girl was almost as tall as Helga, and her hair was neater and a deeper red than Lucky's. Freckles were scattered across her attractive features and a ruby red hue covered her lips, contrasting dramatically with the pale tone of her skin. The outfit she wore was interesting to say the least; she wore a short red-on-white polka-dot pencil skirt, a bright blue-and-black zig-zag patterned scoop-neck blouse, lacy rainbow-colored tights, and short black boots.

She continued holding her pose for a while before clearing her throat.

"You look like a flibberdeejibit. What in the name of blueberry toaster tarts are you doing?" Lucky asked.

"Waiting," the bored-looking girl answered in place of the loudly dressed, older looking teen.

"Really Trix? I had _no_ idea," Lucky shot back sarcastically. The younger girl shrugged non-committedly.

Lucky looked to Helga and Phoebe for an answer. Upon seeing their confused looks, her eyes widened.

"Oh, right, introductions!" she cried as she rushed to correct her faux pas. She gestured to the brunette first. "This is Viatrix, but we all call her Trix. Trix, this is-"

"I know who they are," Trix interrupted, "Hi Phoebe. Hi Helga. I saw a picture of you two once." Her voice was very didactic, as if she were giving them a history lesson rather than carrying on a conversation.

"_That's_ Helga?" the tall redhead questioned incredulously, "My oh my! You look like an absolute _doll!_ Not that you don't Phoebe. After all, you are positively stunning yourself! I simply did _not_ expect Helga to look like that based on her picture. Not that you looked bad in that picture, but now you're so, well, girly! Not that it would be bad if you _weren't_ girly, mind you, but what I mean is that how you looked in the picture is so _different_ from how you look now!"

"Margie, cool it," Lucky commanded as Helga shot her a death glare. "Uh, anyways," she continued, "Guys, this is Margaret."

"Margie will be fine; Margaret is _much_ too formal. Really, it's a true pleasure meeting you two. I've heard so much!" Margie assured Phoebe and Helga. She took Phoebe's hand in hers and gave it a firm shake. Helga continued to glare at Lucky.

"It's _not_ Helga," she stated as she gritted her teeth together, her eyes never straying from Lucky even as she addressed her sisters, "It's _Cecile_."

"My oh my! How _embarrassing!_" Margie exclaimed in horror. Trix's face remained blank.

"No it's not," she said in that tone she always used, "I have an eidetic memory."

"It's true. That's why she's so positively _bored_ with everything except her little pranks, bless her poor soul," Margie explained as she gave her sister a pitying glance.

Lucky rolled her eyes and turned to Phoebe, who appeared to be the only sane person in the room.

"Margie wants to be an actress and suffers from an extreme case of sibling worship. She isn't usually _quite_ so extravagant. Apparently our long lost older sister found her way home while I was gone and Margie's been touched in the head ever since," she explained, a bit of disgust evident in her voice.

"Do you have something against your older sister, Lucky?" Phoebe asked, "I must admit, I'm sensing a bit of hostility from you."

Lucky smirked with a slight chuckle. "That question's best left for another time, Pheebs. At the moment our dear friend 'Cecile' looks like she's about to have an aneurysm, and I have no idea when Arnold's due home."

"Quite the conundrum," Phoebe agreed.

Helga, however, was busy using her "powers of persuasion" to convince Trix that she was, indeed, Cecile.

"Listen here, you prepubescent know-it-all," she was saying.

"I'm fourteen," Trix told her.

"I don't care what age you are, geek-bait! What gives you the gall to call me a liar? My name is CECILE!"

The fourteen-year-old, however, was unfazed by Helga's fury.

"No it isn't," she repeated simply.

"CRIMINY KID! Do I need to introduce you to Ol' Betsy or something?"

"Helga, just calm down," Lucky tried.

"Lucky!" Helga yelled, angry that her friend had given her up.

Phoebe sighed. She loved her friends to be sure, but they did tend to get on her nerves sometimes, especially when they couldn't keep their heads in tricky situations. She turned to Lucky's sisters.

"Helga likes this boy who lives here, Arnold, but she's too she to talk to him without bullying him, so when Lucky move in here she dressed up as her more feminine alter-ego Cecile. Cecile and Arnold now go on dates ever so often, and we can't let Arnold know that he's actually dating Helga," she told them. Trix nodded at this news, as if that made all the sense in the world, but Margie let out a high-pitched squeal.

"That's _so_ romantic!" she declared with a clap and some small hops, "A masquerade, just think! Oh, and not to mention a twist on the clichéd plotline where a boy picks on a girl because he likes her. Don't worry, lovely. You're secret is safe with me!"

Helga stared at the girl in quiet rage before turning her harsh gaze to Phoebe. "It's really comforting to know exactly what it takes for you to spill my _most __**carefully kept **_secrets." The sarcasm in her voice was borderline acidic.

"Oh, you know I didn't mean any harm," Phoebe replied with a soft smile.

"Besides, Pataki, we need them on our side anyway," Lucky added. Helga rolled her eyes.

"You two are going to be the death of me."

======HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!=====

Arnold had taken the "scenic" route home in an attempt to get a firm grasp on his feelings before returning to the chaos that was bound to happen at the boarding house. He realized now that he had loved Helga for a rather long time, and that was hard for him to comprehend. More confusing than that, however, was the notion that he should do something about it. Do what? How? And how could he be sure that Helga wouldn't absolutely hate whatever it was that he did?

Lost in his thoughts, Arnold turned a corner tightly. He immediately regretted his carelessness as he hit a guy a little taller than himself, sending them both sprawling. The other boy managed to regain his footing, but Arnold wound up hitting the wall of the building next to him.

As he blinked away the sting of pain, he finally got a good look at the person he had run into. He had never seen this guy before, but for some reason he seemed a bit familiar. The stranger's most defining features were the freckles covering his nose and his shaggy light brown hair. Arnold also noted the look of annoyance on the other person's face and felt a small twinge of guilt.

"Sorry," he apologized.

"It's fine," the stranger replied whilst dusting himself off, "I have no idea where I'm going, so maybe you can help me out. After all, you apparently know this city so well you don't have to look where you're going."

"I-"

The guy cut Arnold off with his hand. "It's a joke. But really, you could help me out."

"Uh, sure," Arnold replied with a degree of uncertainty , "Where do you need to go? I'm Arnold, by the way."

He stuck out his hand, allowing the stranger to take it and give it a firm shake.

"Thanks. I'm Nereus. I've been_ trying_ to figure out where the Sunset Arms is for quite a while now, but I can't seem to make sense of this city. My sister lives there and my family decided to rent out a couple of rooms for the month to surprise her, you know, a little holiday family vacation thing, you know? Anyway, my parents wanted to do a bit of Christmas shopping and I went with them rather than sticking around to greet the little psycho, but they only wanted to go to lame stores, like antique furniture and crap like that. Even dealing with my sister is better than that torture."

"Wait a minute, you're Lucky's brother? Her family is in town?" Arnold questioned with surprise. Nereus seemed nice enough, but he didn't seem too fond of Lucky for some reason. Was it just him, or was her entire family like that?

"Unfortunately yes. You know her?"

"Yeah, my grandparents own the Sunset Arms. I live there."

Nereus laughed. "I am so sorry. Of course you'd be the poor guy that has to deal with Lucky. She's too nuts for even her own family to handle."

"What do you mean?" Arnold was concerned. He really cared about Lucky. Sure, she acted a bit off at times (okay, all the time), but she didn't seem _dangerous_ if that's what Nereus was implying.

The brown-haired boy rolled his eyes. "Of course she didn't tell you. Crazy _and_ deceitful; that's our little Luckster."

"Is there something I should know?"

"All in due time, Arnold, all in due time," Nereus assured him while gently placing one of his arms across Arnold's shoulders, "Let's just say that my little sis is definitely not as innocent as she pretends to be."

Arnold, luckily, didn't have to respond to Nereus's comment as the boarding house came into their line of sight. The two boys made their way to the building in silence, only pausing briefly when Arnold had to open the door. After entering, the two went into the living room to find a brunette with wavy hair sitting on the couch.

"Lucky, Margie, Phoebe, Cecile," she called in a bored tone, "A blond guy and the attitude problem are here."

Cecile? Arnold wondered if he heard correctly. He had almost forgotten about her, and he soon realized an entirely new problem in his plans to woo Helga. How was he supposed to break things off with Cecile? It's not like they were an official couple or anything. How could he just break up with someone that he's only dating without it sounding like he never wants to see her again?

"Very cute Trix," Nereus said with a roll of his eyes, completely oblivious to Arnold's inner turmoil, "I thought you didn't _do_ sarcasm."

"I don't," she replied in her typical monotone. Nereus shot her a dirty look. His face quickly took on a much more pleasant expression as the girls entered the room.

"Oh, uh, hello ladies," he addressed Phoebe and "Cecile" with a nod and a kind smile before turning to his redheaded sisters. "Margie. Lucky." He spat out Lucky's name as if it left a bad taste in his mouth while she looked away in shame.

"Phoebe?" Arnold asked, "What are you doing here?"

Phoebe froze for a moment, unsure of what to say.

"Oh, it's nothing Arnold. Lucky just got us all together for some girl time. You know, after her big date and everything," "Cecile" quickly suggested to Phoebe, who nodded in affirmation.

"Oh that Curly!" An outraged voice from outside was heard, muffled by the walls of the boarding house. "I swear to God, I'll wring his scrawny little neck!"

"Oh no," Phoebe breathed.

"What is _she_ doing here?" Helga groused under her breath. A loud knock resounded, and her eyes widened. Her disguise might be good enough to fool Arnold and some boys, but if the person outside was who she thought it was then "Cecile" might be found out. "I, uh, left something in Lucky's room!" she explained as she bolted up the stairs. There was no way she was going to let Rhonda Wellington-Lloyd, gossip queen, meet Cecile. No freaking way.

Lucky, being the closest to the door, was the one to let the mysterious voice in.

"Oh, it's you," Rhonda stated nonchalantly as she stepped inside, "Tell me, is Arnold home? I must speak with him at _once_. It's quite urgent."

"In the living room."

Rhonda handed Lucky her coat, a nice dark fur one with red lining, as she walked past. Her outfit was in her typical colors, black and red, with a long red shirt with a slanted hemline belted decoratively near her waist and some black skinny jeans partially covered up by her designer snow boots. Lucky looked quizzically at the coat in her hands before laying it across the seat of the nearest chair.

"Arnold, you_ have_ to help me!" Rhonda cried before realizing that there were others in the room. "Phoebe? What are you doing here? Arnold, are you having a party _without _me?" She turned to Lucky's siblings, a dazzling smile overtaking her face. "Hello everyone, I'm Rhonda Wellington-Lloyd! It is _so_ nice to meet you all."

"Pleasure to meet you, Rhonda," Margie assured her. As she took in the fashionable girl's appearance, her eyes widened, "Oh my goodness! I absolutely _adore_ your boots. I have a pair myself back home. My sister Theria wore them for a photo shoot and the wardrobe people just let her keep them. We wear the same size, so she just let me have them." The aspiring actress smiled with pride. "Don't you just _love_ them?"

Rhonda stared at her slack-jawed for a moment. "Theria," she repeated, "As in Theria _Stevenson_. The _model?!_"

Lucky rolled her eyes. "Didn't you have something you wanted to discuss with Arnold?" she reminded Rhonda in an attempt to change the subject.

"Oh," Rhonda replied with a shake of her head in an attempt to focus on whatever social tragedy had befallen her, "Of course." She turned to the blond boy. "Arnold, you have _got _to help me. That twisted little freak is out to ruin my life!"

"Nah, your life is just collateral damage in one of her warped plans,' Nereus muttered with a pointed glare at Lucky.

"What are you talking about?" Rhonda demanded, "More importantly, who are you?"

"Name's Nereus. Nereus Stevenson," the boy introduced himself plainly, "And weren't you talking about her?" He pointed to Lucky.

"No." Rhonda gave him a look like he was nuts. She didn't even really _know_ Lucky that well.

"Well, if you've got _another_ twisted little freak in your life, I don't know how you survive."

Rhonda rolled her eyes. She'd admit that Nereus was cute, but his angsty schtick was getting really old _really_ fast. She turned back to her football headed friend.

"_Anyway_, Curly is driving me insane!"

"Rhonda," Arnold finally said, "Calm down. What did Curly do?"

"Well, as you know, I always have my winter ball every year at my house and, this year being our senior year, I wanted it to be the best ever. I've been working on this party for _months_, and Curly really wanted to plan the decorations. In what I can only assume was a moment of utter insanity, I agreed to let him do it.

"So today, less than a month away from the party, I finally got to see his decorating scheme, and you know what the theme for the decorations is? _Winter sports._ The colors are green, white, and _bright orange!_ Like a poorly made ski jacket or something! How can we have a _ball_ with a sports theme?! He ordered a half-pipe for the backyard for snowboarding and skates for ice skating on my pool. What's worse is that my own _father_ let him do it! Now we can't return the stuff, and there's not enough time to redo the decorating design. My winter wonderland is _ruined!_"

Nereus leaned over to Phoebe and whispered, "And she wants Arnold to do _what_ about her stupid problem?" Phoebe just put a finger to her lips to signal him to be quiet and watch.

"Well, you could just do a winter bash Rhonda; sports and games outside with ballroom dancing inside. Couples could skate together even," Arnold suggested. Rhonda frowned thoughtfully.

"That _would_ be kind of romantic," she admitted, "And it might be more fun to have more to do."

"See?" Arnold told her, "Curly's not such a bad guy."

"True," Rhonda allowed, "but he's still going to get an earful about that _orange_." She glanced at her watch. "Thank you for your help, Arnold, but I'm afraid I do have to get going. I'm supposed to meet with the caterer soon, but I couldn't continue with the preparations until I got this whole decorating thing resolved. As usual, you were magnificent help."

She shook his hand before turning and exiting the living room with Lucky close behind her to see her out. Upon seeing her coat on a chair she gave Lucky an exasperated look and gathered up the mistreated garment. She then turned to address the girl.

"That's your sister, right?" she asked with a nod in Margie's direction.

"Was the red hair that big of a giveaway?" Lucky joked. Upon seeing Rhonda's unamused expression, however, she continued, "Yeah, she, Nereus, and that bored looking girl are my siblings."

"And is Theria Stevenson _another_ one of your siblings? Truly?"

Lucky grimaced at the mention of her older sister. "Why, are you a fan?" Rhonda gave her an appalled look.

"A mere _fan?_ Lucky, do you have _any _ idea who she is? She's Theria Stevenson, the icon of the fashion world. Every designer wants her to wear their clothes. She is the _epitome_ of class and grace. Her daily outfits are positively _inspired_, _and_ she's planning on releasing her _own_ clothing and fragrance line next fall. Anyone with the _slightest _interest in fashion wants to be her. She's _Theria Stevenson_: model, icon, and my _idol._"

"All I know her as is Theria Stevenson, the one who hogs the bathroom whenever she's actually home," Lucky commented dryly.

"And you _actually_ got to grow up with her?" Rhonda continued, "You're so _lucky!"_

"Yep, that's me," she joked in a bored mutter.

"So how long are the in town?" the fashionista asked anxiously, referring back to the Stevenson siblings in the next room.

"I don't know. They're here for Christmas, that's all I know."

"Fabulous!" Rhonda cried, "I figured Sid would probably bring you along to my winter ball, but you _must_ bring your siblings."

"You do realize that the youngest one here is only fourteen, right?"

"Oh, she'll have fun. Besides, any sister of Theria Stevenson _must_ be mature enough to handle a ball like this," Rhonda assured her, "There are more _questionable_ people on the guest list anyway. You know, like Stinky, Helga, Harold-"

"Sid," Lucky offered with a raised eyebrow.

"Exact- oh. Right. Sorry," Rhonda tried to back track, "Well, my date isn't exactly high society either. Either way, I'll be sending you and your siblings invitations soon."

Lucky nodded, resigned to the fact that the wealthy girl was not going to change her mind. She moved to open the door for Rhonda who thanked her and then took her leave.

Back in the living room, things were taking a turn for the uncomfortable.

"So Arnold," Phoebe began, "Long time no, uh, talk."

"Yeah," Arnold answered, "How're, um, things with Gerald?"

"Good, good," Phoebe replied, looking away.

Margie couldn't take the awkwardness and kept opening and closing her mouth as if she wanted to add something to the conversation but couldn't figure out what to say. Trix simply sat by with her usual expression, not caring one way or the other about the conversation or lack thereof. Nereus looked on with a bemused expression adorning his face, as if entertained with how uncomfortable everyone was. Lucky stayed in the doorway for a moment watching the pitiful social sitation in front of her before she spoke up.

"I'm going to go upstairs with Cecile for a while," she announced, "Margie, Phoebe, Trix, why don't you all come with me. We can girl talk or paint our nails or plan a revolution or something."

The girls all followed Lucky up the stairs as Nereus called up after them, "Remember Lucky: nothing _illegal!_"

Trix, who was at the back of the group, turned around and gave him a look of death befitting her stoic and monotone personality.

"Nereus," she stated, "Shut up."

Arnold continued to watch with a puzzled expression as the girls all finally disappeared up the stairs and into Lucky's room.

=====HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!=====

The afternoon passed slowly in the boarding house. Phoebe and Helga decided to stay for dinner much to Margie's excitement, and the girls just spent the day talking and working on their charm business which also pleased Margie to no end. Helga suggested that they also invite Sid, which surprisingly seemed to interest Trix. Apparently Lucky had told her some story about some prank that Sid had pulled that she found brilliant but no one else remembered and she wanted to talk to him about it.

When the gir;s went downstairs to tell Pookie of the extra seats needed at dinner, they found her talking with the heads of the Stevenson household: Lucky's parents. Because of the extra mouths to feed, the Stevenson parents were insisting on making dinner for the residents of the Sunset Arms, and when they heard that even more people were joining them they became more adamant. Arnold had already invited Gerald to eat with them as well and now with nine more people than usual attending dinner they didn't want to cause the elderly woman any undue stress.

The number of guests attending dinner posed a problem for seating, so it was decided that the food would be laid out in the kitchen and everyone would eat in the living room on the couch, chairs, and floor. Not only would they not have to worry about seating, but it would also allow everyone to get to know one another in a more informal setting than around a dinner table.

While the adults were discussing the schematics of what would be their dinner scene, Phoebe did a silent appraisal of Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson. Mr. Stevenson seemed strong and respectable in his light blue button up shirt and dark gray pants. He wore thick, wire-rimmed glasses on his nose and had a classic-looking silver watch adorning his wrist. The man's dark brown hair was peppered with grey specks, including his bushy, partially ginger mustache and short beard. He was a rather tall man and towered over his much shorter wife.

Out of the two parents, Phoebe would have to admit that Lucky took after her mother in the looks department. The woman was small in almost every way yet still did not give off the appearance of being fragile. She had a sort of soft confidence and strength about her. Her partially white but generally red hair was pulled back into a bun. She wore a nice coral button down shirt and a simple pair of jeans.

After the logistics of dinner were figured out, the girls returned to Lucky's room to once again remind Lucky's sisters (really just Margie) of the importance o the Cecile masquerade and how they should _not _blow it. Trix just blinked at them before returning to reading the dictionary, which Helga took as a sign of passive compliance.

This could definitely work.

======HA!HA!HA!=====

"Mmm, mmm, mmmh! Is that your grandma's cooking?" were the first words out of Gerald's mouth after entering the Sunset Arms. Arnold chuckled.

"Actually that's Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson. Mr. Stevenson has a pot roast going, and his wife is making cherry cobbler for dessert."

"Well if it tastes as good as it smells, then we're getting pampered tonight!"

"Sure thing Gerald," Arnold replied as his face fell into a sad sort of smile.

"What's the matter Arnold?" Gerald wanted to know. The blond boy sighed.

"It's… complicated. I'll tell you once we get up to my room."

The two boys quickly made their way up the stairs, ignoring the shouting coming from Oscar and Suzie's room, as usual. Those two were always in some sort of argument. Oscar had gotten slightly better over the years, but by and by he was still a major mooch.

"So, what's up?" Gerald asked once they entered the sanctity of Arnold's room.

"Well, it's kind of hard to explain-"

"Oh, girl trouble," he deduced.

"How did you-"

"Arnold, it's _always_ girl trouble with you. And I mean that in the best possible way. You just have bad luck when it comes to the ladies is all. I mean, take Helga. It's been over thirteen years, and she _still_ torments you."

"She's not _ that_ bad," Arnold tried to remind him.

"And it took _forever_ to find Cecile."

"Too long," Arnold agreed with some discomfort.

"And Lucky's cool and all, but you've got to admit something's a bit off there."

"True."

"It's not your fault. It's just the way things are," Gerald concluded.

"I guess you're right," Arnold admitted with a sigh.

"So what are the specifics of the girl trouble plaguing you right now?" the other boy pressed.

"Well, it's about Cecile."

"What about her? Trying to figure out how to ask her to be your _official_ girlfriend?"

"No!" Arnold shouted. Gerald gave him a surprised look. The football headed boy blushed. "I, uh, I don't really _want_ to date her anymore, I guess."

"Why not?"

"Well, I don't know. I mean, I feel really bad for the whole strawberry thing, but she didn't seem to be phased by it at _all._ I could've killer her, Gerald, and she wasn't even mad at me! I wanted to see her again so I could get to know her, but I haven't learned a thing about her in all these months, and that proved it. It's like she's not even real."

"So why now? That whole thing happened over a month ago."

Arnold looked away, unsure of what to say. A sly smile crept over his friend's face.

"Who is she?" Gerald asked.

"Huh? Who?"

"The other girl Arnold, the one who you want to date instead of Cecile. Who is she? Anyone I know?"

"Why do you think there's another girl?" Arnold wanted to know. What he _that_ transparent?

"I know you, man. Don't think you can hide something like this from me, alright? It's insulting." Gerald crossed his arms for good measure. "So who is she? Sheena?"

"What? No!"

"Well it's gotta be a single girl, and knowing you it's someone from school. What about Gloria or Katrinka?"

"No. Listen Gerald I-"

Giggles cut off Arnold's sentence.

"Don't tell me it's _Helga!"_ Gerald cried in between chuckles. While Phoebe might have insisted that there was good in Helga, he still couldn't fathom someone liking her in the romantic sense, especially Arnold. He wasn't even sure that Helga was capable of showing affections.

Instead of deny it, however, Arnold simply blushed. Gerald paled. This could not be real.

"Tell me you're joking," he pleaded. Arnold's continued silence caused him to panic. "Man oh man oh man! Geez, Arnold, are you incapable of liking a girl who could possibly like you back?"

"Hey!"

"Come on man, think about it. How many times have you had a crush on a girl and it didn't work out? And now there's this girl that _does_ like you, but _you're _not interested. Now I've heard of a guy wanting something he can't have, but this is getting ridiculous. I mean, Helga? The one girl who has _hated _you since the day you met?"

"But does she really? I've always considered her a friend, and I think she's thought the same of me."

"Look, I'm not going to pretend I know a _thing_ about what goes on in Pataki's mind, but even if you are 'friends' that doesn't mean that she wants to date you."

"I know, but it's still worth a shot."

Gerald sighed. "Why do you like her anyway?"

"I don't know," Arnold began with a blush, "She's just so full of emotion all the time. Sure she tries to hide what hurts her, but in her writing it all comes out. She's full of contradictions. She's brash and angry and abrasive but has the heart of a poet. As much as she likes to act like she doesn

T have a conscience, she usually does the right thing in the end. You cam

T predict anything she does. The way her eyes roll when she thinks I'm being stupid or the tone of her voice when she's issuing a challenge is hypnotizing. She's just… incredible."

Gerald shook his head.

"Mmm, mmm, mmh! Man Arnold, you've got it _bad_. But you know what you gotta do now, right?"

"Yeah, I know."

"So when are you gonna see Cecile next? You've gotta do it soon or you'll just be leading her on."

"I have no idea," Arnold confessed, "I think she might be staying for dinner, so maybe afterwards. I just don't feel right calling her up and inviting her out to break up with her, you know?"

"I fell you. Don't worry, you'll think of something like you always do," Gerald assured his friend.

"I sure hope so."

======HA!HA!HA!=====

Sid made it to the boarding house shortly before 7:30 and was immediately shuffled into the living room by Arnold's grandmother.

"You're one of them 'greasers,' aren't you?" she asked as she eyed him warily.

"Um, Lucky invited me for dinner," he told her, unsure of how to properly respond, "She, uh, said she had a surprise for me."

"Oh, you've got your eye on our little leprechaun, do ya? Well I won't let her get mixed up with the likes of you; she's a good girl, and you're a no good punk!"

"Oh man," a masculine voice interjected, "Lady does she have you buffaloed! Trust me, Lucky is _not_ a 'good girl,' no matter what she has led you to believe."

Sid turned to find himself face to face with a boy who he had never met before.

"And _you_ would be?" he challenged defensively as he stuck his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. Whoever this guy was, Sid already didn't like him.

"Name's Nereus. Who are you?" the other guy asked. It was then that Sid saw it. That face, that nose, _that smirk._

"You're Lucky's brother, aren't you?"

"Aw, Lucky isn't too embarrassed of her big bro to mention him?" Nereus questioned sarcastically, "Wish I could say the same of her."

A disgusted look overtook Sid's face. Brother of the girl he loved or no, Nereus didn't sit well with him.

Gertie frowned as she sensed something amiss in the room. After a few moments of uncertainty, she simply shook her head.

"Well, greaser or not I suppose you're hungry. Head into the kitchen where Ma and Pops can keep an eye on you while _I_ go get the ladies." She stared down the two boys as they made their way into the kitchen before she turned to go upstairs.

"Yo Ma! Hey Pops! Wassup?" Nereus greeted as he and Sid entered the cooking area.

"Oh, good!" Mrs. Stevenson exclaimed, "There's some salad makings in the crisper in the fridge. Why don't you go ahead and mix it all together?"

Nereus groaned loudly, but a sharp look from his mother cut him off.

"Yes ma'am," he grumbled in a gruff tone. His father smiled.

"Atta boy. Next time how about you do it without the attitude, hmm?" Mr. Stevenson suggested to his son before turning to Sid, "Sorry about my son's manners. I'm Parker and that lovely woman over there is my wife, Cora." He extended a hand to the teenager, which Sid took and gave one firm shake.

"Uh, Sid," he responded. Nereus, who was getting the salad things out of the fridge promptly dropped a bag of carrots due to a sudden outburst of laughter.

"So wait," he began in between chuckles, "_you're_ Sid? Like _the_ Sid? Sid Gifaldi?"

"Nereus," his father warned. Sid glared at the other boy.

"So what if I am?" the cap wearing boy challenged, "You got a problem?"

At the moment he either didn't realize or just didn't care that this was the first impression his girlfriend's parents would have of him. All that he could think about was that he didn't like this guy and that this guy seemed to have a problem with Lucky. _His_ Lucky. She may be high strung, impulsive, somewhat reckless, and quite possibly certifiably nuts, but he loved her and didn't want anyone talking poorly of her.

"Dude," Nereus said, sobering quickly, "I am so sorry."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sid aggressively demanded.

"I think that before my son answers, he needs to decide whether or not he wants dinner," Parker interjected in a threatening tone. Nereus just frowned and rolled his eyes.

"Of course. I forgot. It's _precious_ _little Lucky_," he groused sarcastically.

"I will _not_ have you blackmailing your sister."

"Sure, Pops. Whatever you say."

As Parker and Nereus continues arguing, Cora addressed Sid.

"I'm sorry about this," she told him, "Nereus is a bit upset that Lucky is graduating this year even though he's two years older and won't graduate until next year. He's gotten held back a couple of times because of his own laziness. It really hasn't helped that his father was pretty sick this past year."

"Really? Lucky never mentioned that," Sid mused. Cora laughed.

"Good. One of the reasons wy we sent her here was so she could get out of that situation. It wasn't good for her."

"What do you mean?"

Cora smiled softly. "You've probably realized by now that Lucky doesn't do too well in stressful situations. She can usually play it off as if she's calm and just lets off a bit of steam every now and then. Unfortunately, things back home got a bit too stressful. Hillwood seems to have been good for her, and I hear her classes give her the kind of challenge she needs to be focusing on."

"Oh," Sid replied, "I didn't know."

"I'm sorry, I thought Lucky would have told you. Honestly, though, I'm kind of glad she didn't. It's a sign that she's been focusing on other things."

"Alright everyone, food's in the dining hall!" they heard Gertie crow.

"I guess that's our cue," Parker though aloud as he pulled away from scolding his son, "Sid, could you carry out the rice? Thank you. Alright, let's get this dinner on the table!"

====HA!HA!HA!=====

"And then Pookie here started doing the member on top of the water fountain! And that's wy you should never teach a mongoose how to read."

Everyone in the boarding house aside from Mr. Hyunh, who was visiting his daughter for the evening, was having a good time. The leisurely setup allowed them to converse more freely and Phil was currently regaling Gerald, Phoebe, and Trix with a few tales from his youth.

"But how did the cow get in the tree?" Gerald asked.

"You know, I'm not sure. I never asked him!"

Phoebe and Gerald laughed, and one might have seen one of the corners of Trix's mouth twitch upwards.

On the other side of the room stood Sid and Arnold, deep in conversation.

"I just don't know what to do," Arnold told his friend after expressing his desire to break up with Cecile. Sid shook his head.

"Look Arnold, I've dated a _lot_ of girls, and I've broken up with a lot of girld. Heck, most of them were wicked awesome and I just got bored. I'll admit that I was a bit of what you mght call a player, and I _liked _it."

"I don't think your girlfriend would appreciate hearing that," Arnold interjected.

"That's the thing, Arnold. I'm not that person anymore. I guess, when you're with someone you really care about like I care about her, you don't get bored. It's not that those other girls weren't pretty or funny or anything; I just wasn't interested."

"And Lucky?" Arnold asked.

"There's no one else like her. I know everyone is different, but that's the only way I can describe it. Boy howdy, Arnold, she's really something." Sid got a far off look in his eyes. Arnold smiled alongside his friend as he thought of the one who had his heart.

"I think I know what you mean," the football head agreed. Sid, no longer lost in thought, snickered.

"Yeah, with _Helga,_" he teased. Arnold's eyes widened.

"W-what?"

"Oh, come on, Arnold. It's so obvious you've got a thing for her," Sid continued with a sly smile.

"Do people actually _know_?" Arnold asked in slight horror, "Does _she?_"

Sid laughed. "Nah, only a couple people have noticed. Helga has no idea," he assured his friend, "But you have to break up with Cecile. Don't tell her there's someone else, because that just makes a girl feel like she's not good enough. Let her know that she deserves more out of a relationship than you can give her. I've got some other things you could say, but those are sometimes seen as technically lying, and let's face it, you're too much of a goody two shoes to use 'em."

"Gee, Sid. Thanks," Arnold replied flatly.

A loud laugh resounded from another part of the room, interrupting their conversation. The boys turned toward the sound to find Lucky. She looked uncomfortable standing next to her guffawing brother and an annoyed looking Ernie.

"Boy howdy, that guy is creepy," Sid muttered.

"Who, Nereus?" Arnold wanted to clarify. He wasn't too keen on the older boy himself, but knew better than to judge people based on a bad first impression.

"I don't know what his angle is, but it's really starting to tick me off," Sid stated as most of the eyes in the room were focused on the small group that Arnold and Sid were both currently staring at themselves.

"Nereus, could you please _not_?" Lucky whispered to her brother.

"Oh please," Nereus told her with a roll of his eyes, "How many times have I asked _you_ to do that, huh? To not embarrass our _whole family_ in public? To just cool it about the computer stuff? To stop doing your 'sociological experiments?' Geez, Lucky, do you seriously think your actions only affect you? No, you know what? How _dare_ you? How dare you ask me to 'not?' Now what? Embarrass you? Finally, after all these years, you get it. You understand what your siblings have felt all along."

As he spoke his voice rose. "Every time someone brought up 'that one weird girl,' whenever the other kids came over to do school prohects when you were there, every time someone would point and giggle when we were all out in public, there is was. The humiliation. You may not have cared, but we did. It was shameful to be a Stevenson, Lucky. Because. Of. You."

It was clear by the wide eyes in the room that everyone was either too shocked or uncomfortable at Nereus's outburst to stop him, so he continued.

"So you finally care. Good for you! And to think you only had to be arrested to understand how I've felt for _my whole life!_"

Brows all around the room, excluding those of the Stevenson family, furrowed in confusion. Arrested? Lucky?

The redhead in question looked like she had been slapped in the face. She stood frozen, everyone's stares boring into her. She flushed and bolted from the room. Sid, too concerned about his girlfriend to be properly furious with Nereus, followed her.

Seeing his sister's reaction, Nereus realized too late that he had gone far too far.

"Lucky, wait!" he called, looking as if he might go after her as well. His father stopped him.

"You can properly apologize to her later, young man," Parker informed him, "But you and I need to talk. Now. Get your coat." For once Nereus didn't argue.

As the two Stevenson men left, the stunned silence permeating the air turned painfully awkward. While the permanent resident of Hillwood wore confused and bewildered expressions on their faces, Margie's held a murderous look. She looked to her horrified mother who was still too shocked to properly respond to the situation. While Cora knew that Nereus had some anger issues he needed to work out, she never suspected that he would turn on his sister like that. Trix, as usual, seemed passive.

Phoebe was perhaps the most perplexed out of everyone. While Lucky would usually go along with almost any scheme someone suggested if it caught her interest, she also had a history of being obsessive. She would make sure that they always had access to some sort of loophole to get out of trouble in order to make sure the plot succeeded. More than that, she really _was_ a good person. She would never agree to assist in something that would hurt anyone's _feelings_, let alone break the law.

Phoebe turned to Helga, who looked concerned about their friend. She couldn't blame her. What just happened?

"Mrs. Stevenson," Suzie said in an attempt to diffuse the tension, "I just love this cobbler! Can you give me the recipe?"

Cora broke from her trance with a relieved look. "Oh, of course! Let me write it down for you and, please, call me Cora."

The conversation between the two women seemed to break the awkward tension in the room and everyone started talking, immersing themselves once again in their own conversations.

"Man, what was that all about?" Gerald asked as he approached Arnold. The remaining teenagers in the room were sort of drifting toward each other, forming a group all their own.

"I don't know Gerald," Arnold admitted.

"It's quite perplexing," Phoebe agreed as "Cecile," Margie, and Trix caught up with them.

"Look guys, Nereus is stupid," Margie told them all.

"So Lucky wasn't arrested?" Gerald wanted to clarify.

"No, she was," Trix confirmed her brother's claim.

"Trix!" Margie protested. The younger sister just gave an exasperated sigh.

"Well, what happened?" "Cecile" wanted to know. Margie and Trix shared a look before Margie finally relented.

"Alright, fine. Go ahead," she told her sister, who nodded. Those around Trix looked at her intently, eagerly awaiting the explanation she had in store for them.

"Well Dad was sick."

======HA!HA!HA!=====

"Lucky?" Sid asked as he opened the door to her room. He couldn't see her anywhere, but the chilling breeze drew his attention to an open window.

"Lucky!" he cried, rushing to the window. There she was jacketless in the winter air, leaning against the railing of the fire escape, and gazing at the city below. "Boy howdy, you must be freezing!"

"More like numb," she replied softly without looking at him.

"Come on, Lucky. Let's go inside," Sid suggested. Defiance flashed in Lucky's eyes.

"No," she stated firmly, "I can't face them. I can't even face you."

"Lucky, I-"

"I keep trying to make myself out to be a good guy in all this, you know? But the truth is I was just a scared kid wanting everything to go back to the way it was. I felt like I had to do _something_; he was dying. I couldn't let him die."

"What are you-"

"It was the medicine, you know? The stuff that was supposed to save him. He took it and it healed him/ he was healthy, or at least healthy-ish. Then he got hurt at work. A hernia. His guts were all displaced inside his body. Kid of gruesome, huh?" She laughed a hollow, twisted laugh. "They just sat there, threatening to rupture his abdominal organs. That would've killed him"

"Who is he?" Sid tried again. Lucky continued at if she hadn't heard.

"There was a surgery that could fix him, but he couldn't get it as long as he was on the medicine. He was okay, he didn't need the medicine anymore. The doctor said so. Dear old doc told him to keep taking it, though. It was for some 'results' they needed or something. Were the test results worth more than his life? No!" She turned and slid down to the ground, her face down and her back against the raining. "I'm so stupid."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am!" she finally responded to something he said, fire in her voice, "It was a simple enough idea. I'd hacked into databases before, and I knew how to change the information even though I hadn't done _exactly_ that before. Just a few strokes of the keyboard and he wouldn't have to be on the medicine anymore. He could be fixed."

Sid looked at his girlfriend with wide eyes as the implications of her words sank in. He thought back to his conversation with her parents earlier as Lucky continued on with her story.

"I made a rookie mistake and left my digital fingerprints all over those files. The cops were able to track it back to me in only a few days. They took me to the station in the back of the squad car, lights on and everything."

She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment before facing Sid and smiling. "Actually it was kind of cool. I felt like a sort of spy or something." She wiggled her eyebrows for emphasis, causing Sid to laugh. He pulled her into a hug. They sat together smiling for a few moments before Sid spoke up.

"I gotta tell you, Lucky, I'm kind of relieved to hear about this," he told her.

"Oh?"

"Yep. Boy howdy, I was so afraid that you were too good for me."

"Me, too good for you?" Lucky asked incredulously, "Never. I'm afraid that out of the two of us, you're the better one."

"Well, I've had my own run in with the cops before," Sid assured her, "I blew up a building once."

Lucky smirked. "Is that so, Mr. Gifaldi?"

"I mean, I thought I did. Me, Harold, and Stinky were messing with some rockets in a parking lot and a building got destroyed while we were there. We thought it was our fault and started running from the cops. At one point we even had to tie Arnold to a chair and gag him for some reason, probably tried to ask him what to do or something, I can't remember. Anyways, we got these fake beards and were planning on riding the rails." He chuckled at the memory. "The cops eventually _did_ come after us to tell us to go home because our parents were worried. Apparently the building had been scheduled for demolition and we had nothing to do with it."

"We make quite the pair, don't we?" Lucky thought aloud with a laugh, "The ex-con and the wanted outlaw. A regular Bonnie and Clyde."

It was Sid's turn to laugh.

"Next time I go on the lam, I'll make sure to take you with me. You can be my wicked awesome good luck charm," he told her with a wink. Lucky smiled and kissed his check.

"Mmm, mmm, mmm! What do we have here?"

The couple looked up to find Gerald, Phoebe, Margie, Trix, "Cecile," ad Arnold staring at them from Lucky's room through the window. Lucky shot a pointed look at her red haired sister who shrugged back in response, a sheepish smile plastered on her face.

"What? We were coming to comfort you," Margie explained, "We didn't think you two would be canoodling on the fire escape."

Lucky and Sid blushed and moved to crawl through the window again. Once they were inside, Margie, Phoebe, and "Cecile" quickly enveloped Lucky in a group hug.

"You okay?" Helga whispered in her ear.

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Do you guys want to go up to my room and play some board games or something?" Arnold suggested to the group since it looked like Sid had done a fine job of comforting Lucky all on his own.

"That sounds most enjoyable," Phoebe agreed.

====HA!HA!HA!=====

The kids, having no idea how much time the adults were going to spend downstairs, had begun playing a game of Own-It-All. Since a normal game usually took a severely long time to pay, Arnold had figured that everyone would have gotten bored before long, but such was not the case. They had decided early on to split into teams: Gerald and Phoebe, Lucky and Sid, Margie and Cecile, and Trix and Arnold. Arnold made a mental note to thank Margie later. If it wasn't for her insistence that she was not paired with either of her sister's, he would have been Cecile's partner, and he was not ready to deal with that considering what he was planning to do by night's end.

It was interesting to see the dynamic between each team. Gerald and Phoebe were level headed and bought whatever properties they landed on with the plan to either sell or trade them with other teams as the game progressed. Sid and Lucky were the insane ones. They bought only five properties: three of one color, the most expensive property on the board, and a railroad. They built hotels on each of the three properties of the same color. After that they were ecstatic to receive a go to jail card and, since they could still receive rent while in jail, remained there as long as possible and laughed maniacally whenever someone landed on one of their properties. Cecile seemed to be apathetic to whatever Margie did, while Margie seemed to only be interested in properties with "cool names."

Arnold had first thought that he and Trix were doing the same thing as Gerald and Phoebe up until the first time he and Trix sold a property. Trix, instead of simply stating a price, offered up a deal for the property that led to ongoing payment. Now they didn't own any properties, but were getting roughly $216 per team from the others.

"There's nothing in the rules against it," Trix informed Arnold when he asked.

As they played, Helga's mind was still on Arnold. She was currently more than a little ticked off at a certain football head. She had been trying to just talk to him all nit, but every time she tried to approach him he was either talking to someone else or busy with something. Helga wasn't stupid; she could tell that he was avoiding her. The reasoning behind his actions, however, was unknown. Why was he ignoring her? Did she do something wrong?

As worried as she felt, however, she was also a bit miffed. Cecile was, after all, pretty much he best thing that ever happened to that stupid football head, so why was he acting like such a moron? It just didn't make any sense.

The game continued for about an hour and a half or so before Gertie burst into the room.

"Aha!" she exclaimed, "I knew you no good greasers would try and corrupt these poor girls!" She pointed an accusing finger at Gerald and Sid, who were currently counting their respective team's money and thus had many fake bills in their hands. "Now you've got them dealing on the black market!"

"Grandma," Arnold said with a sigh, "That would make them gangsters, not greasers."

"No, Arnold!" the excited woman cried, "Not you, too! That settles it. Out with you two!"

"Grandma, you can't do that!" Arnold protested, but Gerald shook his head.

"Nah man," he told his blond friend, "I should probably get going anyway. Mom doesn't like it if I stay out too late. How about you, Phoebe? Want me to walk you home?" His girlfriend smiled.

"I find that arrangement most agreeable," she answered.

"Wait, what time is it?" "Cecile" wanted to know. Her parents might not realize if she wasn't there, but Olga certainly would. She looked at her phone. "Oh shoot! I really need to get going, too."

"I guess now would be a good time for me to head out, too, huh?" Sid joined in.

"Alright, I'll walk you guys out," Arnold conceded. The entire group of teenagers made their way down the stairs and to the front door, passing by the living room as they did so.

"Leaving so soon?" Parker called from said room.

"Uh, yeah Mr. Stevenson," Sid replied, "It was wicked awesome meeting you, sir."

"Hang on a moment," the older man stopped them, "I've got someone who has a message for you all."

The group paused and turned to see a sheepish and apologetic Nereus. Sid eyed Lucky carefully, who had visibly stiffened in the presence of her brother.

"What do _you_ want?" the leather clad boy snarled in a way to let his girlfriend know he had her back. Nereus whinced.

"I, uh, want to apologize," he told them, "To all of you. I should've kept my fat trap shut. I'm sorry for ruining dinner and, well, everything else."

Sid narrowed his eyes as he closely examined Nereus, as if it would help him detect if the other boy was lying or not. Lucky looked back and forth from her brother to her boyfriend with a grin before erupting into giggles. Both boys turned to her.

"I'm sorry!" she said in between laughs, "It's just so _funny!_ I mean, think about it: usually it's the brother who doesn't trust the boyfriend. Here it's my boyfriend who doesn't trust my brother!" She continued laughing in her insane manner as everyone just kind of stared at her.

"You know," Margie said after Lucky's laughing fit started to subside, "I'd almost forgotten how undeniably _nuts_ you are."

Lucky smirked deviously, proving her sister's point further.

"Well, thanks for the apology, I guess," Gerald cut in, "Phebs and I should really get going, though."

"Yeah, and I've still got some chores to do at home," Sid explained.

"Alright. Well, thanks for having dinner with us," Arnold told them.

"And for dealing with my family," Lucky added jokingly. Phoebe giggled as she and Gerald departed and Lucky walked Sid to the door. He looked at her expectantly, but she cast a glance back at her siblings. Sid's face fell slightly as he understood what she was trying to silently tell him, but he understood her not wanting to show affection in front of her family. As she donned her classic smirk, however, his brow furrowed. What was she-

Swiftly, she pecked him on the lips. Unlike their kiss earlier, this one was short and sweet. It was a new feeling for Sid, who in his player days was used to heavy, but albeit meaningless, kissing. H found that he liked this kiss more than the longer ones from other girls. It was like a quick reminder that she loved him and didn't want him to forget it.

"I'll see you later," she told him with a smile.

"Yeah you will," Sid replied with a goofy grin plastered to his face.

It was Margie's and Nereus's laughing that brought the couple out of their little moment. Sid coughed as Lucky blushed.

"Uh, I guess I should go then," Sid suggested.

"R-right," Lucky stammered, "I'll see you tomorrow or something?"

"Sure."

Sid made a move to exit and Lucky gave him a small wave punctuated with a thumbs-up. After he was out of sight, she shut the door and turned to Margie and Nereus.

"On a scale from the invention of the wheel to blow-drying your hair while in the bath, how bad of an idea do you think that was? Remember, you're dealing with a hardened criminal here," she reminded them.

"Oh what, _now_ it's okay to joke about that?" Nereus complained.

"To be fair, you weren't joking," Arnold told him. The blond boy had decided to give Nereus a second chance. Sure, the Stevenson boy didn't really strike him as trustworthy, but Arnold knew of the importance of not judging a book by its cover. Besides, Nereus had seemed pretty authentic with his apology.

The older boy rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll give you that."

"I think it's really time for me to get going," "Cecile" suddenly piped up.

"Oh, of course!" Lucky exclaimed, "C'mon guys, let's allow these two lovely homo sapiens a smidgen of privacy, hmm?"

She corralled her siblings and led them upstairs, leaving Arnold and the girl he had been dating to talk alone.

"Crazy dinner, huh?" Arnold began nervously. How exactly does one start a break-up conversation?

"Yeah," "Cecile" responded awkwardly. "You know, I kind of got the feeling that you were trying to ignore me. Weird, huh?" She tried to play it off with a laugh, but it died quickly in her throat when she realized that Arnold wasn't laughing along.

"Listen, Cecile, I want you to know that I think you're really great," he began, "but the thing is-"

"You don't want to see me anymore, do you?" she interrupted, her expression blank and cold. Arnold was silent for a few moments, but she wasn't having it. _"Do you?"_

"I'm sorry," Arnold told her without meeting her eyes.

Helga refused to cry, no matter how much the repressed tears stung her eyes. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she chose to respond.

"Fine then," she stated simply, suppressing her desire to tear him a new one, "Then this will be the last time I will burden you with my presence. Goodbye, Arnold."

She turned to leave, but Arnold caught her arm.

"Wait, we can still be friends!" he insisted.

Helga pulled her arm away gruffly without turning to face him.

"No, Arnold. We can't."

With that, she walked out of the door and out of his life.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Yep, a 2 year hiatus and I give you a bucketful of angst. This story turned out to be a lot more dramatic than I originally planned, but hopefully the good-natured insanity makes up for it sometimes!

Also, for some reason I really like imagining Lucky and Sid as Bonnie and Clyde. They're too unconventional to actually rob banks and take other peoples money, though. They'd probably only pull something like that during a board game. Mreh.

It's kind of late here and I have a paper to write still, but I wanted to make sure that this _actually _got posted after all this time. I love you all! As usual, read and review! Your reviews help me to know how the heck I'm doing, because without you lot I have no clue.

I'll try to get the next chapter out soonish, but it won't be before the end of the school year, I think. I've got finals as well as a lot of family stress to deal with. This has just been written up since last semester and I'm loosening my typing fingers for all these essays I'm supposed to write. At least that's what I'm telling myself...

Anyways, you guys are wonderful and I hope you had a fun time reading this!

Until we meet again,

**-NerdilyNi**


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